Kenya Morans coach Cliff Owuor withdraws from Cameroon trip

By Philip Onyango

Australian coach Liz Mills will handle Kenya Morans in their Fiba Afrobasket Group "C" final round of qualifiers in Yaounde, Cameroon late this month.

Team head coach Cliff Owuor will not be in Cameroon for qualifiers as he his is tied down with club duty at Rwanda Patriotic Army (APR).

Owuor failed to secure release from his new employers APR after joining them last year from United States International University (USIU).

Kenya Morans, who have been in training for close to a month in Nairobi, will fly out to Yaounde on Monday and play their first game against Senegal two days later.

Kenya lie third in the four-nation group behind leaders Senegal, followed by Angola.

They only need to match the results of fourth placed Mozambique to secure a place in the Africa finals for the first time since 1993.

"I asked the Kenya Basketball Federation to allow me some time off to work with my new team which I joined last month because I want to first lay a very strong foundation that will enable APR to return to its glory days", Owuor said.

Owuor said his heart was clean after talking to Mills and his assistant Collins Gaya during his brief visit to the country last week.

"I am in constant communication with the players and members of the technical bench and have made it very clear that I will be available for any form of support they will need from me," said Owuor, who returned to his Kigali base on Wednesday.

This article was originally published by Daily Nation. [Photo: Nation Media Group/Chris Omollo]