Harambee Sand Stars revive medal hopes as Basketball suffer opening defeats at Africa Beach Games

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FOOTBALL Harambee Sand Stars revive medal hopes as Basketball suffer opening defeats at Africa Beach Games

Joel Omotto 15:20 - 29.06.2023

The Kenya men’s football team can clinch bronze if they overcome Morocco later on Thursday

Kenya’s football team revived its hopes for a medal at the Africa Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia, after edging out Libya 11-8 in their third game of the five-team tournament on Wednesday.

The victory, coupled with Tanzania’s 8-1 loss at the hands of Senegal in the other match, means Kenya can battle for the bronze medal on the final day of action when they take on Morocco later on Thursday.

Skipper Paul Kavula says they will give their all in that duel to give themselves an opportunity for a podium finish.

“We know it is going to be a difficult match because they are very experienced, but we are experienced as well. We have been growing from the first game and we have really improved after three matches,” said Kavula.

Looking back at the duel against Libya, the skipper said a change in strategy was key in aiding them to victory.

“We looked at how we played the first two matches and we saw that we were a bit defensive. We changed and decided to have more offensive players and put a balance and that is what worked for us. We will use the same strategy against Morocco and hopefully it works,” he noted.

Lucky Mrabu and Wilberforce Lugogo, who turned out for FKF Premier League side Bandari FC, starred for the Kenyan side, in their win over Libya. Mrabu scored five goals for Kenya while Lugogo found the back of the net thrice.

Earlier on, the team had lost 5-3 to neighbors Tanzania in their second match of the tournament.

Mrabu, Lugogo and Answar Shamuni scored the goals for Kenya, in a match that they could have won were they more enterprising in attack.

Meanwhile, the men and women’s basketball teams had a losing start in the tournament, with the former falling 21-9 to Algeria while the latter were beaten 21-14 by hosts Tunisia.