3X3 Basketball Teams Set Eyes On Africa Cup To Gunner Points To Paris 2024
NAIROBI, Kenya- Kenya basketball federation has today named the teams to represent Kenya at the upcoming 2023 FIBA 3×3 Africa Cup, set to take place at the Cairo International Stadium in Al Qahirah, Egypt, from December 1st to 3rd.
Present during the team naming was National Olympic Committee Of Kenya women representative Mrs. Paurvi Rawal who spoke on behalf of the executive.
“We are happy to have supported the two teams in their preparations and now we want to wish them all the best as they carry the hopes of Kenya in search of their maiden appearance at the Olympic Games,” said Rawal.
The two teams have been training in preparation for the continental event for two months in non-residential training before moving into camp for two weeks of residential training. The camp had eight players for
The Tournament will serve as an avenue for the teams to gunner points as they look to make an Olympic Games debut in Paris in 2024.
The teams will leave the country this Wednesday night or Thursday morning for the competition, which will start on Friday, December 1st.
The women’s team which currently ranks at position two in Africa and 27th in the world with 287,713 points slightly above Tunisia who have 276,893 and have better chances of making it to Paris next summer has been placed in pool B alongside Benin, Madagascar, Morocco, and Nigeria while the men are in pool B with Benin, Madagascar, Morocco and Mali.
Speaking during the team naming the ladies’ captain Natalie Achieng who was involved as a sparring partner in the team for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games expressed confidence in the team selected for the campaign.
“Our major goal is to make it to the Olympic games but for us to do that we start by winning all our group matches then proceed to the semis and eventually finals. This will definitely add us points and improve our ranking thereby increasing our chances of taking Kenya to the Olympics for the first time,” said Natalie.
The men’s team is ranked 7th in Africa and 52 in the world with 456,274 points slightly behind Algeria with 461,426 points and ahead of Morocco who have 370,828 points. They are optimistic about making a good account of themselves and adding more points which will help them make it to the Olympic qualifier event in 2024.
