Kaya Tiwi head coach Philip Onyango has his sights firmly set on reclaiming the basketball 5×5 title in the upcoming Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) National Term One Games slated for April 7-12 at Shanzu TTC in Mombasa.
The Coastal region giants have been in the cold for two years since winning their last national gong in 2022 when they beat Olympic 60-54 but Onyango says the squad is ripe to rule again.
The veteran coach has fired warning shots to his rivals, saying he has never lost three times in a row and that he has assembled a strong arsenal ready for a bruising battle.
“In my coaching life, I have never lost three finals consecutively. I’m confident we are going to reclaim our title. We just slip last season in the semis and some decisions didn’t favour us but this year we are going all out for the title,” Onyango told Citizen Digital.
The former champions have only lost one player, point guard Hildah Nyokabi who now plays for Strathmore University after clearing secondary school last year
“We have a strong squad to fight for the title. I have promoted seven players from netball and I believe they will boost us because of their agility. Netballers have always been my best players,” added Onyango.
Onyango also hopes the weather will play to their advantage.
“We’ve suffered in terms of the weather for the last two years in Eldoret and Machakos because of the rains. My girls found it difficult to adapt to the cold. This time round we hope the weather will favour us because we’re playing on our home turf and the weather we’re used to.”
The former East Africa champions bowed out in the semi-finals in last year, and Onyango will be seeking revenge this year to snatch the title from Butere Girls.
Kaya Tiwi are placed in Pool A alongside Eastern champions Ikutha Girls, Nairobi’s Olympic Secondary and North Eastern representatives.
Reigning champions Butere are pooled in Group A with Central region’s giants M-pesa Academy, Rift Valley’s St. Joseph’s Kitale and Nyanza’s Asumbi Girls.
By Kevin Otenga
