KEN - Kenya boost chances with US-based players

NAIROBI (Afrobasket for Women/FIBA World Championship for Women) - Kenya national women's team head coach Ronald Onyango Owino is trying to make sure his team turn up at the 2013 Afrobasket with a quality and experienced team.

This year's showpiece runs from 20 to 29 September in Mozambique's capital city of Maputo.

Coach Owino is revamping his team with the addition of seven Kenyan players with US college basketball experience.

Kenya finished bottom of the table at the 2007 Afrobasket, when they last competed in the tournament, but they are now more ambitious.

Owino told FIBA.com: "Kenya's objective at the ANC (Afrobasket for Women) in Maputo is to have a decent finish. Our dream would be to be in the top 4."

Beyond some members of a talented Kenyan team that won the Africa zone 5 qualifier in January in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - including the event's MVP Hilda Hindasi Luvandwa - head coach Owino is expecting to work with former and current student athletes Beatrice Awino, Josephine Owino, Gladys Wanyama, Brenda Adhiambo, Anastacia Njeri, Mildred Olumasi and Rose Ouma.

Awino is a 1.98m center who played for Union University. She may pair with 1.91m center Owino who was picked 28th overall pick in the 2009 WNBA by the Washington Mystics, although she was later waved.

That year, Owino joined Cankaya Universitesi in Turkey's TKBL league before she joined Dynamo-NPU Kyiv in Ukraine's UPBL.

On the other hand, Adhiambo saw last week her Seattle University being eliminated in the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament following a 68-51 defeat to Saint Mary’s, despite her contribution of six points, three rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes.

Njeri played for Kenya in the 2009 zone 5 qualifier and currently plays for Jacksonville College.

Mombasa-born Olumasi is a 1.93m center who led Kenya in scoring at the 2008 U18 Afrobasket in Tunisia. She plays for Union University.

Wanyama showed off her skills for Lewis and Clark Community College, and Ouma is currently based in Dubai.

If Kenya get all these players, Owino says: "then our team will be greatly strengthened and hopefully capable of competing and not just participating."

Although Owino took over the team in early January, he had previously coached the team at the 2007 12-team All Africa Games in Algeria, where they finished fifth.

In January, he worked with the team only a few weeks before they finished unbeaten at the Africa zone 5 qualifier.

"It is very gratifying qualifying after a long absence especially given that we only trained for two weeks only and beat established teams like Egypt and Rwanda," Owino said.

Historically, Kenya's only success was a silver medal at the 1993 Afrobasket for Women played in Senegal, which qualified the team to the 1994 FIBA World Championship for Women held in Australia.

The 2013 Afrobasket for Women is a qualifier tournament for the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women to be staged in Turkey.

FIBA