KEN - Kenya boys and Uganda girls bags ticket for U18 show in Kampala

NAIROBI (Zone Five U18 championships) - Kenya boys and Uganda girls stole the show during the Zone Five U18 championships that ended at Lugogo Indoor Stadium in Kampala.

While it was mixed results for the Kenya national boys and girls teams, it was gloom for Rwanda boys and ecstacy for Uganda girls in a tournament that was skipped by Somalia, Tanzania, Eritrea and Ethiopia but was a joy all the same.

Kenya boys won all their four matches to book their continental ticket where they will now travel to Cairo, Egypt while the girls were shut out of the finals after they put up a luke worm performance managing only a rare draw before going on to the Ugandans.

The boys beat Rwanda 66-51, Sudan 67-66, Burundi 100-69 and Uganda 89-55 to complete a resounding success in the junior show in Kampala. Kevin Samora, David Ogolla, John Paul, Joshua Omondi and Evans Letting playing their hearts out.

The girls were stunned 47-47 in a game that officials decided would not go into over time. And as if that was not enough, they faltered again 57-56 in their second meeting to an upbeat and swift Ugandan girls superbly led by point guard and MVP Miariam Nabusiba - the smallest player on the court.

Ugandan coach Hamza Nyambogo was all joy as he guided his team to their first ever continental event. Hebsaid after the final whistled that his girls were fitter than their opponents despite only having trained for four weeks.

"These girls are still in school so we did not train for long - onkly twice a week but they had a very good tournament as they penetrated the Kenyan defense at will and also shot very well from the perimeter.

We will definately prepare well for the frica show in Tunisia and move that was supported by FUBA chairman Ambrose Tashoya and hie executive. He said that it was milestone for Uganda basketball and that sponsors were just waitinfg for the results to move in to help.

A shell shocked Kenyan coach Phillip Onyango,so confident before the games started could hide his dissapointrmet as he blamed ghis girls for missing easy points that would hae seen his team win the tie.

"We did not have a good game but we still had a strong chance to take this game as we missed the last possesion of the game. We missed easy baskets including a potentially game clincher at the end." he said

Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) must now start working early to ensure that the boys - who did not have any meaningful trainings at all - now are brought together early if they are to make a mark in the Cairo tournament which will be even tougher.

The youngsters exhibited high quality games as was shown in the following matches Kenya/Sudan, Kenya/Uganda girls, and Sudan/Uganda. But to many the most suprising thing of the tourney was the lack of fans.

Ugandans are known to love basketball, but during this five day tournament they were just nowhere to be seen at all.

FULL RESULTS
Sudan 66 Kenya 67; Burundi 88 Uganda 84; Sudan 66 Burundi 61; Uganda 47 Kenya 47; Rwanda 100 Uganda 83; Kenya 100 Burundi 69; Rwanda 76 Sudan 63; Kenya 66 Rwanda 51; Uganda 92 Sudan 95 (OT 80-80); Burundi 47 Rwanda 58; Kenya 56 Uganda 57; Kenya 89 Uganda 55.

Dann OWERRE
FIBA