Kenya Morans power forward Ronald “Ronnie” Gundo has spoken of his joy and pride in playing for the national men’s basketball team.
Gundo, who stood out for Kenya Morans at the ongoing Fiba AfroBasket Championships in Kigali, has also paid glowing tribute to his team mates who helped Kenya qualify for Africa’s premier national basketball competition for the first time in 28 years.
“It feels special to be selected to play for the national team at this level. Representing Kenya gives me so much joy,” Gundo said on the sidelines of the Fiba AfroBasket Championships Thursday at Kigali Indoor Arena.
Although Kenya lost to South Sudan 60-58 in play-off match to miss out on a chance of reaching the quarter-finals, Gundo, who holds a masters degree in Business Administration, believes the future looks bright for the team.
The 2.03 metres (6ft 8in) tall player lost his father in 2010 but rose from humble beginnings in Kawangware area of Nairobi to realise his ambition of playing professional basketball in Spain from 2019.
He was introduced to basketball by his school mate Dismas Oketch while in Form One at Onjiko High School in Kisumu County in 2007 and he has never looked back.
“Okech had a lot of influence on me and was a good friend. He was the one who convinced me to try out dribbling and shooting and I liked it from the first day,” he narrated.
When his mother Rael Gombe suffered a near-fatal stroke, his life changed suddenly.
“I was headed home for the half-term break, excited to share the good news of my new love for basketball with my mother but I was shocked to find her paralysed,” he recalls.
That, coupled with the fact that his father John Gombe was struggling to pay for his mother’s medication and to take care of the family while also keeping him in school, made him resolve to pursue basketball aggressively.
In Form Two, he landed a sports a scholarship to join Maseno School. He reached the basketball semi-finals of the 2009 secondary schools national championships and lost to Laiser Hill.
In 2010, Maseno beat Laiser Hill in the national finals staged at Upper Hill High School in Nairobi County to emerge national champions.
“That was a great moment for me. It gave me a lot of exposure and I made a lot of contacts during the championships,” he recalls.
The same year, he was among basketball players selected to attend a youth sports camp in the US dubbed “Basketball without Borders.” It was organised by the NBA. His engagement with Kenya Morans started right after he finished secondary school.
“I went for national team trials in 2011 without even being invited. Luckily, I made it to the team. For me it was not even about playing but the mere excitement of being in the national team.
“I could not handle much responsibility with Kenya Morans because I was still schooling.”
He joined Canisius College in Buffalo, New York from where he graduated with a Bachelors degree in Finance and Accounting.
He later joined Robert Morris University in USA, from where he graduated with a masters degree in Business Administration in 2018.
“All this time, I was in touch with some of my Kenyan friends, including Tylor Ongwae and Griffin Ligare. I was waiting for an opportunity to do something for our country,” said Gundo.
In 2019, he was called up to Kenya Morans squad ahead of the Fiba Zone Five qualifiers for AfroCan tournament which the team won to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations Championships in Mali.
Kenya finished second behind the Democratic Republic of Congo. BY DAILY NATION