Team Kenya in camp for 3x3 Commonwealth Games preparations

The national Kenyan 3x3 basketball teams have today begun their training at the Kasarani Indoor arena in preparation for the upcoming Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

The two Kenyan sides which consist of seven men and similar number of women will be in camp for seven weeks preparing for their debut on the stage.

Kenya was handed direct qualification tickets as the second top ranked African team. This format of basketball will be making its first appearance at the Commonwealth Games this year and team Kenya is keen on making a mark.

The women's team will be banking on the experience of lionesses’ captain Melissa Akinyi and the national league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Natalie Akinyi.

Also on the squad is another Lionesses player Jemimah Otieno who has since ditched Storms for Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

The men's team is led by Equity Dumas forward Faheem Juma who was part of the team that brought glory to the country during the AfroCan championships in 2019.

Also in camp is Larry Shavanga, Strathmore Blades' Deryl omondi, Gabriel Onyango and David Odanga.

“The first day of training has been good, we are getting to know each other as a team and from this session it is safe to say we will gel fast. The coach is a familiar person to the team and therefore we are dealing with someone in whose philosophy we believe.

We also appreciate the fact that we have been offered the best court for our preparations, we will do our very best," shared Shavanga.

Speaking after the training session coach Tony Ochieng expressed optimism that the team will be ready to face the beat teams in the world at the end of the seven weeks.

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He further thanked NOC-K and the government through the ministry of sports for making efforts to ensure the teams report to residential camps in good time.

“The team is doing very well. At the moment we have factored in different aspects in our training to ensure we prepare exhaustively for the seven weeks before the Games," Ochieng said.

Kenya will be playing against the likes of Canada, Sri Lanka, Great Britain, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia,  New Zealand and Australia.

Other teams in camp include hockey, cycling, wheelchair basketball, Judo, Boxing, Weightlifting, and powerlifting.