Kenya settles for third place in Wheelchair Basketball Championships
The Kenya Under-23 Wheelchair Basketball national men’s team, has received massive praise from the Kenya Wheelchair Basketball Federation (KWBF) President Alfred Simiyu, for an outstanding display at the African Championship held over the weekend.
The tournament that featured Four nations; Kenya, DRC, Gambia and hosts South Africa, was held at the Vodacom Mandeville Indoor Sports Centre in Johannesburg as the battle for a slot to the World Under-23 Wheelchair Basketball Championship, set for Japan in November intensifies.
Kenya finished third after losing 80-32 to South Africa and 60-36 to DRC with their only victory in the championship was Over Gambia where they won 56-34.
President Simiyu also thanked Coach Caleb Odiyo’s side, saying that honoring the tournament had saved Kenya a two-year ban and fine by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF), having been warned for missing a January championship in Ethiopia.
Kenya’s Men and Women’s senior wheelchair basketball teams were also part of the trip to South Africa for classification purposes, where they got to play friendlies.
The entire team however departed later than scheduled following delays by the government in facilitating the trip, and in turn affected preparation for the competition, hence finishing third.
