The inaugural Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owallo’s basketball tournament saw Onjiko High school narrowly edge out Maseno by 39 – 37 Saturday.
The clash, watched by the CS himself who is the sponsor through Eliud Owallo Foundation, culminatinated in Onjiko, the reigning Nyanza Basketball champions carrying the day.
Owallo, CS for Information, Communication and Digital Economy, promised to revamp the basketball game which was at its lowest ebb in the region.
He said the region was once upon a time the main feeder of Kenya national basketball team producing top notch players in the country.
The CS singled out former basketball giants in the sport as including: Lakers and Juakali with secondary schools; Maseno, St. Mary’s Yala, Cardinal Otunga (Mosocho) and Kisumu Boys.
He challenged the tournament organisers to select players to form two Nyanza based basketball teams- male and female- which would represent the region.
The CS appealed to the former top basketball players, charged with organising the tournament to select best players to represent Nyanza.
He revealed that the players would be in two categories for boys and girls, saying they would be supported all the way.
“We cannot watch our teams sink to the lowest ebb but we must work to nurture fresh talent as we strive to revive this game in Nyanza,” he reassured.
Respective schools will also be supported depending on their priority needs alongside sports, he stated.
The tournament has attracted 26 schools from the Nyanza region with various organizations led by Kenya Sports Academy (KAS) and Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) camping there keen to scout for the best talented players.
All the 26 teams received uniforms donated by the Foundation. The participating teams included 13 boys and 13 girls’ schools from Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, Nyamira, Kisii and Migori counties.
This translates to 390 student-athletes drawn from Nyanza schools having taken part in the tournament under the watchful eyes of some of the top cream players Kenya has ever had.
Owallo said that having been a basketball player himself, it was time to team up with other top notch colleagues to pay back to society.
He pointed out that talent is good only if it is well nurtured and fully exploited for income generation.
The CS advised the Basketball Federation to watch out for corruption which rocked the soccer game in Kenya with far reaching consequences.
The matches were played at Maseno, Kisumu Boys, Kisumu Girls, and Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground.
Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) Director John Okwemba said they were scouting for talented players for a team set to represent Kenya in USA later this year.
Joseph Were who is the head coach for Onjiko, the Nyanza giant has set his eyes on the Eliud Owalo basketball trophy.
Were exuded confidence that his team would win the secondary basketball festival trophy despite the anticipated challenges from their arch-rivals.
By Joseph Ouma
