KPA's Kiki wary of team’s form as BAL nears

Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men’s league champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) are set to represent the country in the third edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) with the group phase set for September.

Head coach Sammy Kiki says the team is not yet in training after the league was put on hold to pave way for the general elections as he expressed concerns that the players might lose the gains they had made before the break.

Road-map to BAL released as KPA prepare for return

In their last outing, the dockers easily saw off Kisumu Lakeside and Eldonets in two matches the tactician describes as the best performances the team has displayed since the season began.

“We had been struggling with team chemistry since the season began but in the two matches, the squad has clicked and everything was working. It is difficult to face the two sides on their own turf but we picked easy wins. I am, however, wary that we might have to start from scratch as the gains might be lost due to the break

We have at most a month to prepare for BAL while still playing in the local league but I am optimistic that the players will hit top form immediately when we get back to training,” offered Kiki.

KPA are making a return to the NBA-organised tournament after featuring in the inaugural season qualifiers, failing to make it past the Elite 16 after they forfeited their first match of the second round of qualification and could not go past the group stage despite winning the remaining matches.

The group phase is scheduled for between 6 September and 30 October 2022. At the conclusion of the group tournaments, the top two ranked teams in each group will qualify for the Qualifying Tournaments (Elite 16).

In an earlier interview, Kiki had hinted at bolstering the squad ahead of BAL qualifiers. The tactician has already made three additions to his team for the new season but more changes are to be expected for the BAL qualifiers.

“BAL is a different ball game and we have to be realistic about the squad we front both at the qualifiers and in the main event. When the time comes, we will also look to add to the squad some experienced players from the continent and beyond.

BAL allows for teams to make such signings. However, while at it, the squad that won us the league will be a main priority as they also need to gain experience at that level," Kiki explained.