National Basketball team Morans, clinched a silver medal in the International Basketball Federation AfroCan tournament in Bamako Mali after losing 61-82 to Democratic Republic of Congo in the final match played last evening at the Salamatou Maiga Sports Complex.
Kenya started dismally in the first quarter losing 18 -29 to DRC but bounced back in the second quarter to beat DRC 19-7 which saw them lead by half time.
The Congolese turned the tables on the Kenyan Morans in the second half of the game, taking advantage of their nerves and rushed shooting to punish the mistakes immediately.
DRC widened the gap to 20 points in the third quarter with Kenya struggling to recover in the last one.
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It was the Morans’ second loss in the competition that saw them claim victory over traditional African basketball heavyweights Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, and Morocco to reach the final.
Coincidentally, their tournament ended just as it had begun having lost 65-82 to the same opposition in the group stages.
Despite the loss, the Morans leave Mali heads up having qualified for a continental showpiece for the first time in 26 years and going all the way to the final, beating some of the continent’s best teams in the process.
Kenya’s Tylor Ongwae and Bush Wamukota were selected to be among the top five allstars in Africa.
Ongwae was the game’s lead scorer with 21 points followed by DRC’s Maxi Shamba with 20.
In earlier matches, Angola bagged bronze medal after beating Morocco 88-71 in the third place play-off match.
Host Mali clinched the fifth position after a 75-64 win over Chad, while the seventh-place match saw Tunisia beat Algeria 68-67.
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