Basketball
RBK AND NOGA CROWNED CHAMPIONS OF THE RED BULL HALF-COURT TOURNAMENT
Nairobi, Kenya – Winners of the Red Bull Half Court tournament will be representing the country in the world finals that will be played in Belgrade, Serbia in September.
RBK and Noga were crowned the overall winners of the Red Bull Half Court tournament in the men’s and women’s categories respectively. The finals of the games were played at the United States International University (USIU) grounds.
The tournament came to a close after staging qualifiers in 4 major cities in the country. Mombasa kickstarted the 2023 edition of the tournament at the Aga Khan grounds. Kisumu hosted the western region games at the Jaramogi Odinga Odinga Sports Complex. Eldoret made a debut in the tournament by staging the games in the “City of Champions”. Nairobi was the last to host the qualifiers of the series as a precursor to the National Finals of the tournament.
The tournament which was organized by Red Bull Kenya in partnership with Kenya Basketball Federation sort to identify and grow 3X3 talent in the country. Even as the country gears towards identifying new talent and improving the country in global 3x3 competitions.
In matches played earlier in the day in the men’s category, RBK snatched a 14-7 win against K South. Noga men’s team beat Wednesday 14-12 while Sons of anarchy lost 17-7 to Rogue. RBK punished Noga men’s team 20-9 while the Bands beat Roques 21 -7 to secure the much-deserved win.
Red Bull Half Court National Finals winners
© Red Bull
In the ladies' category, Hookies lost to Noga Ladies 10-21, Swans beat Kaya Tiwi D 19-5. A last-minute foul against Noga was enough to help them secure an 11-10 win against the Swans to be crowned the national champions.
Speaking after being crowned the winners RBK captain Mathew Kibet acknowledged the level of competitiveness that they faced from their opponents saying maintaining focus and being tactical was the only way they we going to win the game.
Red Bull Half Court National Finals winners
© Red Bull
” I had to call a time-out because they cut our lead back to just 6 points thereafter, we were able to withstand the pressure and clear the game. I believe when we go to Serbia, we will apply the lessons we have learned today to put Kenya on the map.”
Ambrose Kisoi the Secretary General of the Kenya Basketball Federation applauded Red Bull Half Court as a fodder for nurturing basketball talent in the country.
“We have identified talent that will be enlisted into the national team, especially in the 3x3 basketball. To further plug into this competition, we have organized an exhibition game between the winners of this tournament and the National team that will be representing the country in the Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia this year”
This year will be the second time Kenya will be representing the country in the World Finals. The staging of the games will be in Belgrade, Serbia which is considered the home of 3x3 basketball.
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