 ...and just enjoying local sports at the same time international. Are you still passionate about cycling? The last time you were here in the studio you were talking about an initiative ...that you are doing with regards to ensuring that you bring a lot of young people together to do cycling. And I've seen even the second lady. Rachel Ruto is also passionate about cycling with her team. Yes, and I like even what they're doing even with the expressway and the new roads that are coming up because they're putting in cycling lanes, so it's a good thing, cycling is very, very healthy and it's a good way to keep fit and lose weight. And yes, the initiative is still on, a lot of young people are still joining cycling and I think it's another spot that in the next two, three years, she will be making nudes and headlines in the sporting world. Yesterday of course we saw Kenya losing against Senegal 69-51 and I think Kenya won the verge of winning that particular game but of course Senegal came from behind to overtake them. I don't know, what do you think might have transpired in between? Let's start from there. I think we started well, the tempo was so high in the first two quarters, remember in the second quarter we had scored them but they came in the third and fourth quarter and they had scored us. Remember they went on like a ten, zero run in the third quarter, taking away the quarter 25-10, that is 15 points in that quarter. In the last quarter again it was another big run for Senegal 17-10 and we had a lot of turnovers in the third, in the fourth turnovers and now I think maybe the fatigue was kicking in, heavy legs on the players and I just hope they have gotten enough rest to just ensure that they see of Angola today. But from the game we watched yesterday between Kenya and Senegal and the other one which we played in the early months. What kind of major difference did you see in this team? I think there have been major improvements from even the technical staff. We have a new coach, Coach Liz Miles. She is very, very vast when it comes to African basketball, she has transformed us. Remember yesterday we were going so much to the line. It means we are more attacking, things that we didn't do last time. We are playing with a lot of free will. We are not playing a lot of structured basketball so it means players are able to express themselves. Again, he has a new team because she has been able to drop a few players. We have seen the likes of Bosire being left behind for him being left behind now. Last time Bumgei was not able to play because he was not cleared. He is now playing in Makota. Last time he had contracted COVID, he is now able to play. So I think he had a very, very good team to choose from. And I think we did well because remember last time we lost 35 by 35 points. Yesterday we lost by 17 points and that is a big achievement. That is a big achievement indeed. What do you think about the blend of youth and experience in the squad? Of course Kenya, it's a door die for them into next clash against Angola and it's equally another aculian task for them to beat Angola which he has invested heavily in basketball. How should be the approach to this particular clash by the coach? I think we just need to be clinical in finishing and in a short selection. I remember the amount of three points that we took yesterday did not fall. So there is the difference because remember Senegal, Angola, they are big. We are not blessed with the length and the physique. So the best you can do is work on our speed, quick transition basketball at the same time, get good short selection and we just have to be clinical in our finishing because remember we lost to Angola last time by 17 points and if we could replicate what we did yesterday against Senegal to Angola today and I've just seen news in that Awich has been cleared to play Jela Awich. So that also adds something because now we have depth at the post position and I think we should be able to do or have a good game tonight. Let's do a short selection with the pleasure of not mentioning like Awich What will be your best five going against Angola today in your prediction line up? I think my best five I will have on quarter start together with Desmond at the post area then I'll have Bungae, I'll have Taylor and I'll have Awich, Jela Awich start because they are players that they are playing international basketball they are very very vast, they have a lot of experience they bring a lot of depth into the team and I think that line up may be able to give us a good run before we start making a rotation and see the likes of Wamutoro Griffin just come in and give them rest. It has to be tough for coach also considering she has been with the team for one month and the other internationals had to fly in Was that a major impact on to the game? It's always a major impact because remember when you're going for such tournaments you're not going there to participate you're going there to compete so you want to bring your best and you bring your best it means that you have to prepare your best adequately she has had one month to prepare the team but I believe with the one month the players that are in the team their level of basketball understanding is high they are well coordinated they have played wikin wikout remember the players like Taylor Okare plays in the basketball champions league we see him play wikin wikout the likes of Desk as well in Australia they play wikin wikout so I don't think that should be a bigger challenge only the rotation that she needs to focus on make sure that they get a lot of rest yesterday Bungae had like 18 minutes in the first half I think she needs to reduce that maybe to around 12-14 just to give him enough rest so that he can be able to go in the second half of how much influence is the local best players led by the likes of Aria Local because it's a blend of those playing at home and even the foreign best players how significant are they to be blended with the those playing their trade professionally overseas remember whether they are playing abroad or they are playing locally it means these are our best players so they have been in camp they have been here remember when we started the qualifiers in Uganda they came to Kenya we went to Wanda now they are in Cameroon and they have been there so they have the experience they have the know-how to manuva and ensure that we get these two wins today yes we need one win but the two wins remember at the end of the day us having the two wins means that when they do the draws it means it's going to give us an easier route in the next round but when you finish third it means you're going to get the likes of Egypt the likes of Tunisia and again it's going to be a very very difficult route for us maybe to win the African Championship and remember the last time you were there 27-28 years ago we finished fourth so you already have been there we have finished fourth so we cannot go there and make sure we just participate we have to go there compete and try backing that fourth position man it's been a long time of waiting several years down the line when Kenya has not made it to the elite continental competition and now this is an opportunity how well can we defy all odds to qualify like in football we did it in 2019 after 13 years of waiting Kenya made it to the continental stage Aaron is it possible for the basketball it's possible because remember when we also did the games here last year in February South Sudan had never qualified they've never played we beat them here they got a wild card again they were beaten they got another wild card but look at now Sudan has qualified for the first time for the African Championship so why not Kenya we only need one game to qualify and just rewrite everything back again so I believe by the end of tomorrow we'll have written history we'll have qualified and that will give us ample time just to come back regroup coach to have ample time with the team even have a chance to watch the local league which is also about to start and maybe get other people on board that are equally talented and deserve the chance and maybe we'll see maybe a change in God or in terms of players that are selected and everything and maybe go there and have a good result indeed of course we're discussing about the development of basketball the country is joining us Zedekaya Otieno also known as ZD a renowned basketball coach of course still pursuing his initiative of elite wikapo basketball tournament how is the progress so far by the way just to digress how it will be basketball development is key all these we are talking today is all about basketball development all these players that are playing overseas and stuff they started somewhere developing their skill and that is why maybe somebody identified them and okay they got an opportunity maybe to travel abroad or to go live abroad and play basketball so it's so critical in our fabric when we want to grow the sport any sport whether basketball, cycling and everything wikapo is doing very very well we have a new home right now just adjusting to status at Lavelata we normally meet there every week every Saturday morning from 8am to 10am and it's all about developing these kids and when we start shipping players out in terms of them going to high school abroad going to college abroad as we try to organize ourselves it's not like we cannot do this locally we can do this locally but now there are better infrastructure there are better coaches outside there there are better facilities outside there so if you are able to take them out they access this infrastructure they access these opportunities then we are able to ensure that we have a sustainable program even now the morans it will not be like okay they go put up a show and we come back we don't have something to present we have a gap and also the newly elected federation have an opportunity now to restructure is it the newly elected or the newly re-elected the newly elected they have an ample chance and opportunity just to make sure they put in the structures so that we start seeing under 12 competing also as well because we also have a basket for under 12 under 16 under 18 then we are able to identify able to get the exposure and we are able to make sure that this is consistent you know a lot of my friends who are watching the show might be interested in taking their kids to become a lead basketball initiative but since you mentioned something to do with state house you know with the high cost of living right now they might be scared of coming because of the high charges I don't know now that you talked about it in detail tell us about the charges the rates they are very very fair charges because we are adjusting to state house it doesn't mean that our charges are high no no no no it's just a normal program like any program we'll find in Kayole, Madare, wherever the only thing they have to pay is for the venue we still don't have a venue there so the only thing they have to pay is the venue and maybe by their kids our training kit what happened with your previous venue Hillcrest Hillcrest new management we had to move to Stratmo Stratmo now COVID and everything they haven't really opened so by good chance somebody introduced us to the Matiba family and they have given us a list there just into state house and we really really thank them for that what I'm getting is that for basketball in Kenya to go to the higher level and to the highest levels is a very serious structured youth program and you realize that from these other countries like Senegal, Angola, Mali, Egypt, Tunisia they have got those youth programs how is that key for us considering that most of our basketball players started majoring in high school that's when we started learning basketball and all that but in primary level it's very few schools that have basketball so how is the youth program key for basketball development in Kenya it's very very key and there is a group and part of a group called Fa East Basketball Association they are based in Kajole Diwopa they have ensured that all the seven public primary schools within Kajole have a basketball court and have a coach so every term these kids are trained basketball and they are able to compete at the end of the term in a tournament called Big Dreams Big Stars so it's very very vital for us to have these structures not only in basketball even in football because if you look at Senegal they have the junior the NBA academy based in Senegal plus they have the seed program being led by Amadu Gafol and these are programs that bring in coaches from abroad to scout players and when you are Maxwell was talking about Nigeria having like seven, six players having been drafted to the NBA where did all this start in the power forward basketball academy in Nigeria because that is the biggest program in Nigeria so also in Kenya as much as we have Vikapu as much as we have maybe Fa East Basketball Association we have Slam Dunk we need to have a national outlook program that these kids can always be channeled to and we are able to expose them so they are able to be identified way way early so they get opportunities to maybe go high school abroad go college abroad and surely we will see them if not playing in the Euro league maybe playing in the NBA or other big leagues in the world considering that we have now many Africans playing in the NBA remember also we have what is called BAL BAL is an African concept of the NBA which is now starting if we are if we put in the structures that are needed it means in the next five years we will not have to ship players to states to Europe no we will have to just nature a local based players here and them playing in the BAL competition but the only thing that we need to do is infrastructure infrastructure infrastructure there are so many groups that are coming up building basketball facilities around Nairobi and staff but also this needs to go past Nairobi we need to see them in Nakuru we need to see them in Eldorvet we need to see them in Kisumu we need to see them in Mombasa that is the only way because like now basketball is not an outdoor game it's an indoor game the reason why maybe we cannot we cannot host some of these games is because of what maybe you have Nyayo and you have Kasaran as the only indoor gyms that are public not private because some of the private gyms are expensive so even the government I like what C.S. Amina she's doing going all around ensuring that all sporting facilities are done ahead of time but as they do these as they do basketball they need to ensure that basketball it is an indoor game and they build as gyms so that we are able to host other teams both locally and internationally in indoor facilities and then now we've got our high school because that is where now we start our basketball most of us here in Kenya how has it been and how is it doing so far is it still that our high school is very good in development for Kenyan basketballers our high school is okay because there are structure everything is sorted because they start playing in the sub zonals districts then they go to sub county county then from county they go to nationals from nationals they go to East African games so there is a structure so if you want a player you can follow through the player player has a lot of games to play within so you are able to track players but that is not good enough that quality of talent that is there is not good enough that is why we have to go back and started at primary school and once you started at primary school like now we have a gap we may not see it but we have a gap at college level let's say like now when these moran teams now they exit there is a very very big gap but we need to go back to our colleges make sure that we feel that gap because your players in KU Nazarin, Rihara who can fit in so we need to start nurturing them way way early then once that is done okay high school who are there then from once from twos who are there then primary school who are there then under ten who are there because we have under tens who are playing basketball so it's fair enough if we start putting them in this structure so that we are able to follow them through until they get to the cinemas in that even when they get into when you are doing under ten by the time you get into high school you already understand the basics learning the game in full detail the way they do it in the outside world one question is remember in 1994 1995 when our latest team made it to the world championship and that was a big one for Kenya in the 90s and our basketball through the 70s the 80s was also a big thing in Africa and there in the country do you see us going back to those glory days why not why not we can go back to those glory days the things that we need first thing is planning planning how do we get there and ask getting there means that we need to start identifying talent when they are ten twelve-year-olds we cannot start working with fifteen sixteen-year-olds we need to work with ten identify them kids that are athletic they are lengthy start teaching them how to go for layups how to shoot then put them in a program then start exposing them way way early when they are ten because remember I took a team last year but one to South Africa when they go to South Africa the games are being played in a ballroom ask your youth so ballrooms are places where we have meetings of exhibitions but these people these people had converted the ballroom to a basketball court so there was AC and everything there was carpet besides the court so at the end of the day players are shocked because it's a culture shock it's a culture shock for them it's a new experience but you see when this kid is ten or twelve they start experiencing these things then it gets to them when you get here you need to start competing you need to play at this level this is expected of us our execution needs to be like this so then it gets easier when this kid is fifteen when this kid is sixteen when this kid is seventeen by the time this kid is seventeen trust me he has played against Angola he has played against Tunisia he has played against Mozambique he knows Mozambique they are short they run they know Senegal they are tall they are skilled but they don't run so they are able to adjust so it's doable I know the lionesses I know they have they have qualifiers as well in the next month or two and I know the federation is going to do a good job they have done with the men's team and we wish that they can replicate what they replicated talking about the federation you had the election and everything that has come in and this usually this the pattern improvisation that goes around in everything some of the major sports that are given government attention has got to be athletic we got football they have given government attention and all that but when it comes to basketball I think it was last year or last year but when we started seeing government now trying to come in but not coming in fully to support basketball as I came here in Kenya how has that impacted basketball that lack of government attention I think when you are in a family of like maybe let's say 12, 6 yes as a child at least you have to be the stubborn one or you have to make noise so it's a good thing with the noise that maybe the morans are making and everything and at least now the government is trying to turn the attention okay there's a spot here so I think also the guys who are being re-elected into the federation they have work to do to ensure that they package the basketball well because now these are product so how best do you sell this product to the consumers so if they are able to do that there is a lot of vibe when we are offline we are talking about the NBA anytime maybe we get to the playoffs and the NBA running at least 1.3 million people are streaming those games live and these are people that are aware in Kenya so how do you turn these 1.3 million people or viewers who are able to tune in at 6 a.m. 4 a.m. to watch an NBA game into a local fan base and that can only be done when we package basketball in a good way commercialize it they are able to see it on TV they are able to see it maybe on YouTube and everything and convert that into revenue for the ration for the basketball in Kenya and at the end of the day whether the government comes in or not will be sorted but unlike the noise that is there they need to keep on making the noise they need to keep on pushing the government because at the end of the day the government, they have to come in and support the programs but government only comes in when there are structures and there is a good vibe around it and then now that will be a fall up to the federation that they need to make the Kenyan basketball marketing to be a very key product so that a Kenyan audience can sit and actually say I want to watch this product of course there is no two about it when you read about sports marketing you start asking yourself what is sports marketing sports marketing is very simple you have this sport how do you convert this into a what into a money making business that people can buy when you have quality games you have quality highlights when you can profile your players people are interested because they can associate themselves with some of these players but when you are not able to do that then we lose it because how did rugby do it how did football do it why are they sending contracts left right hand center mega control yes why not basketball so it means there is something that you are not doing right and you need to go get it right and morans are doing a very good job by leading the way in terms of them winning making a lot of noise outside there so the federation needs to take a leaf and convert all this vibe into commercial and make sure they package it well and sell it out because if they don't do it right now when everything is on the high then once it comes down and I think all these things we are talking about boils down to the leadership and administration of the game at the federation level those honchos have been there like in basketball Polo Tula is there who has been the long serving president of Kenya basketball federation and he has been a principal of serious high schools in the country which are reputable when it comes to matters basketball at Maseno and is well known for getting involved in turning out of talents and even right now as you speak which is a school not well known for basketball but I think it is something that can be initiated Pito Rero the treasurer of KBF has been in upper high school right now is in Dagoret and we have seen how he is trying to bring the game to a school that was not well known for sports how well can these people be involved now that they are at the helm of federation and ensure that whatever we are talking about he comes into actualization I think they know what needs to be done and they have a lot of good will because if you even interact with them when they are doing their other businesses that are not basketball related they are very good people to relate with and at the end of the day they just need to delegate and bring people around them that maybe may help or give them that push because at the end of the day if you delegate something and it happens and you are at the helm who takes credit it's you who is there so I believe they have a four year term and I believe it's going to be a four year term that has a lot to do in it I remember he won the election with a very very slim margin of around 11 votes so it means it's a divided house it's not like okay I can say okay I have my people are a lot of way so a lot of consultation needs to happen a lot of good will needs to happen for us to move basketball forward but there are four years to make sure that they change the terrain of basketball after maybe two three years I think also this will be his last term following with what the sports act put in place he was given a run for his money since mumbo just announced a candidate I think two weeks before a week before the election day and of course she did very well getting lost by slim margin of around 11 votes and I think talking about since mumbo she's our good friend she's been a friend of the show and she lost the father and I think we take this opportunity to submit our condolences and hope that God gives her much needed strength and fortitude to withstand the big loss of course she's the CEO of Sports Connect Africa and very passionate about the game so has it been like since the elections I know I've seen some new cases coming into KBF I can't talk much much about the federation because I'm not in it but I'll say and you also don't want to make enemies at the end of the day we love the game we may agree, disagree but our disagreement is all because of the game that you love and we want to just make a difference and an impact at the end of the day but I believe that I've done well you've seen the team get good preparation and stuff there is a lot of good vibe around the team the team has been able to travel like in the past we were by such things we were like okay the team can travel we don't have resources they've put in a few committees that are trying to do the right thing so I believe so far so good we have seen they're trying to revive the league which is okay so hopefully let's give them time and see what they do what things will change talking about the reviving the league you are seeing the minister of sport is now giving some set of guidelines and some of the games that are coming back is what athletics is back at the moment football also got a chance to come back rugby has been given a go ahead also to come back they'll be playing today a curtain raise and then open with mati day what about basketball is there a chance of it coming back I think it's back games are being played in Kiyambu Road yes I think it's back there was an HGM then there was a team manager's meeting there are teams that are still not ready to play but teams that are ready to play the fixtures are ready out today we had some of the coastal teams traveled to Nairobi I think they are currently playing in Kiyambu I've just seen coastal kings were playing against Blazers which coastal king has won 57-37 something like that so I think the league is slowly coming but also again with covid measures players being tested they have to be masked all the time and just make sure that everybody is healthy and safe at the end of the day so Zedias you wind up just tell us about your prospects ahead of tonight's clash Kenya against Angola Moran looking forward to step up their performance and leave behind the miseries of yesterday's loss against Senegal so that they can cement their chances of making it through to the 2021 Afro basketball how significant is that competition first of all how crucial is it I think I've seen much hype around it it's very crucial for us because for us to position ourselves as big boys of basketball in Africa then we need to be there we need to start dining with the big boys sorry to bring this to the local politics but the haslan nation are saying we need to be on the table dining with the rest and making so same thing with basketball we need to be there at the helm be with the big boys because Kenya is very very who are the big boys Sudan, Egypt Sudan are not the big boys the young boys coming in so what are the big boys Egypt, Tunisia because again the North Africans again Senegal is still there again FIFA ranking it also means that our players can play like in the Champions League if you are low ranked it means you cannot play in the basketball Champions League so again these are some of the things that will happen what do you think happened in between because when we were growing we were on same level playing grounds with those countries you've mentioned Kenya was at par with the likes of Egypt Senegal, the North African Jant, South Africa but do you think some complacence in between at the end of the day all these things are you need to plan way way in advance we know FIBA calendar for the next 3-4 years it's out there so it means as a federation how best do I plan to ensure that I attend all these things because that is my mandate as a federation as an outsider I cannot come and do it do that for the federation federation needs to know there exists under 18 championship there is this Afro basketball qualifiers so at the end of the day we just need to plan for these things and make sure that they get actualized coming back to today Angola versus Kenya it's a big game we need to win today, we need to win tomorrow against Mozambique these games they make us be in a good position for the next round in terms of pooling and everything we win one game yes well and good our foot is inside we'll have qualified for the first time in 27 years but we need the rankings we need a good seeding for the next round so that things are a little bit easier because again it's not going to be easy because everyone was qualified the big dogs so I just want to wish the team well I know there is a lot of hype a lot of psych in the camp and everything I talked to the coach yesterday and she's very very positive over better results and we lost to them by 17 and I believe they can lose to us today by 17 definitely of course everyone is very positive boy and ahead of tonight's clash Kenya Morans against Angola playing at 10pm East African time this is 2021 Afro basketball qualifiers which Kenya is looking forward to make it through after despite the fact that they lost their first game of the campaign in Yawande Kamerun against Senegal yesterday doba yaslim imagine contrary to what happened towards the end of last year where they lost spectacularly and under the tutelage of Liz Mills was the new coach and one of the experienced coach as far as basketball is concerned globally we hope that things would be different going forward ZDK also known as ZDIA basketball coach with much info about the game joining us this particular afternoon to tell us and discuss about development of the sport in the country and you've heard him reiterating the aspect of structures and policies being in put in place and huge investment especially amongst the upcoming talent always on having on board we hope to talk about this going forward so that our game can continue growing and we can continue getting it to the in limelight where it was some time back we will get there, there's a lot of good news from us development coaches programs investment so we will get there definitely of course the show still continues until 3 o'clock remember tomorrow Arsenal up against Manchester City man is putting on an Arsenal chat I've never seen an Arsenal fan we're so proud like him was it a coincidence? no no no it's weekend I support my team, my team is Arsenal we had a shaky performance in the Europa League but I believe we can shake that off Oman City remember again it's the mentor meeting it's a discussion we delving into in the next few minutes it's the touch leg