Akam One and Moischers Nets team A were crowned the winners in the women’s and men’s categories of the Mombasa edition of the Red Bull Half-Court basketball tournament that was played at the Aga Khan grounds in Mombasa.
The tournament which is organized by Kenya Basketball Federation in partnership with Red Bull Kenya was making a comeback for the 4th annual edition and saw teams fight for a qualifying spot to compete in the world Finals that will be held in Belgrade, Serbia.
In the men’s semi-final fixtures played earlier, Moischers Nets A beat Storms 18-10 to book a tantalizing tie with Moischers Nets B team, which had earlier thrashed A team 17-13 in the second semi-final match of the day.
In the women’s semi-final matches, Kaya Tiwi C punished Kaya Tiwi A 19-4 to book a final duel with Kaya Tiwi D which had earlier beaten Akam Two 17-7.
Akam One will be joined by Kaya Tiwi D, Kaya Tiwi A, and Kaya Tiwi C in the women’s category while in the men’s category Moischers A will be joined by Moischers B and the Storms who have qualified to play in the national finals.
Christopher Okibo a match official in the tournament lauded the tournament for the opportunity it provided for match officials to improve their officiating skills.
“The tournament was a good platform for officials because the rules of the game keep on changing every day, so it is important to be updated with these new changes to keep improving the basketball game for the better.”
The format of Kenya’s only nationwide 3 on 3 basketball tournament follows the FIBA rules where teams play for 10 minutes to score 21 points max. In the case of a tie, the team that scores 2 points first wins the game. In each qualifier, the teams will play in a 1st round pool play where the team that accumulates the most scoring points is rewarded with a bonus point and a qualification spot in the knockout stage.
O’Bryan Oyoo, a player from the Moischer Nets A reiterated the importance that the tournament played in providing exposure to players and helping them develop their offensive and defensive skills.
“Such tournaments provide us players a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play against the best players in the game and improve our basketball skills.”
The qualified teams from the Mombasa edition will play in the National Finals that will be held at the USIU grounds on the 27th of May.
Focus now shifts to the Kisumu edition of the tournament, which will be held on the 29th of April.
