Coast Champions carve their name into Nationals

The Boys and their Coaches Eugene Auka (Left) and Jimnah Kimani (right) smile for the camera at the 2016 Kenya High School National GamesAfter trotting through and winning the Coast Regional basketball tournament held last month in Taita Taveta undefeated, the mighty AKA Mombasa boys team went ahead to take on the country’s best at the 2016 High School National Basketball games held at Friends School, Bungoma County.

The National games, held from 11 to 16 April, was a feast for the eyes for all who attended as it hosted the most elite of the sport at high school level in a five-day basketball bonanza. All the teams that competed at the games were the champions of their respected regions, and had come to battle it out for a spot at the top and being crowned the best in Kenya. The boys team was on a mission – to get into the semi-finals and gain automatic qualification into the East African games. 

The boys went on to begin achieving that mission surely after it began, winning their first two games, one of which was against Kisumu Boys, coming up with a strong 32-28.

Seen left: AKA Mombasa Boys Captain and Point Guard Salim Abdallah shows of his stunning dribbling skills at the National Games (Photo by Coach Eugene Auka)In an exclusive interview, one of the stars, Bryan Kimwatan, stated: “We did not care about our opponents’ track record,” showing the team’s resilience and drive heading into and throughout the games. “We had one objective: Get to East Africa.”

The boys put on an emphatic performance but were sadly knocked out of the semi-finals by East African game regulars, Upperhill boys of Nairobi, 70-28. This did not seem to put the spirits of the team down, “Yes, after losing the semis there was a sense of disappointment in the team, but that didn’t last long. From being doubted to even win the county games to reaching the semi-finals of the National games all in one season is truly a feat. After making it to the Nationals, I think the team is aiming for the moon, quite literally,” commented Bryan.   

This seems evident as the boys are currently waiting for conformation for their participation in the East African games to be held later this year. This fairytale of friendship, teamwork and dedication seems to not be over quite yet.

By Sadiq Issa, DP1 (The Reporters)