Ethiopian fanbase wins hearts as Gambela City make East African Cup debut
Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 11.10.25. | 07:45
This year's competition attracted six teams drawn from four countries
Curtains came down on the East African Basketball Championship Cup (EABCC), now in its second edition, at the Nyayo Gymnasium with Ethiopia's Gambela City losing the fifth-place match 82-48 to Tanzania's Stein Warriors.
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Despite finishing the six-team competition winless, the side enjoyed massive support from the Ethiopian community in Kenya, especially the Anyuak people, finishing as the most supported team in the tournament, despite there having three Kenyan teams.
The organisers struggled to pull a crowd on the opening day, but Gambela City's fanbase turned the situation around on day two, Monday, as the side opened their campaign against Stein Warriors.
With 45 turnovers, Gambela stood no chance against Stein's more offensive side, which converted these into 44 points, but that mattered little for the Gambela City fanbase who cheered every point, basket, opponent's turnover, rallying their side on.
Even as the competition proved too tough with loss after another, the fans stayed. Song and dance was order of day after each game, the losses notwithstanding.
"It was a tough awakening for us as it was our first time. Everything is different from what we are used to back home, and the quality of the players is really high. However, we put on a good show for our massive fanbase. We expect a better performance in the next tournament based on this experience," said Gambela City captain Jikany Riek.
Riek says basketball in Ethiopia may not be as big as other Zone Five nations like Rwanda, Burundi or Kenya, but Gambela's participation has opened the door for endless opportunities going forward.
"We have some teams and a league back home but the level is nothing like we have experienced here. We are confident we will come back bigger and better," he added.
Richmond Latjor, one of the fans who showed up for his 'home' team for a majority of their matches, says the community had mobilised for weeks ahead of the championship.
"We have a huge community in Nairobi and Kiambu and we had to show up for our own. I have lived in Kenya for 13 years, schooled here, but I had never been to Nyayo Gymnasium for basketball. It is an amazing vybe and I am glad we can watch a team from home play. It makes me curious about the sport both in Kenya and in Ethiopia," the varsity student offered.
The EABCC, introduced last year to give Zone Five clubs that do not qualify for Road to BAL a chance at international basketball, is expected to expand as more nations participate.
Plans are also underway to play champions of other Zones.
