Two basketball teams will be constituted from the Eliud Owalo Nyanza basketball tournament for the Nyanza region, ICT CS Eliud Owalo has said.
He said the best players identified from the two-day tournament will form male and female basketball teams.
Owalo, who presided over the tournament finals ceremony at Kenyatta sports ground in Kisumu on Sunday, said the teams will absorb talented players from the region.
Interior Principal Secretary Dr Raymond Omollo attended the finals. Owalo said the teams once constituted will also feed the national teams such as Lioness and Morans with talented players.
“As the foundation, we are focusing on identifying and nurturing talents through fair and competitive tournaments to expose them to professional teams for sponsorship,” he said.
Owalo announced that the tournament will be held annually to expose more talented players in the region.
“We have talented young players in the region, especially in schools. They only lack exposure, which the foundation is committed to address,” he said.
The CS said Kenya Sports Academy (KAS) and Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) scouted best players.
Besides basketball, Owalo said they are already in the process to register the constituted Nyanza Football club, composed of players selected during the Eliud Owalo Super Cup which was held last year.
“We are working on the registration and very soon the club will be registered. The team will also play a friendly match with Coast United over the Easter holidays,” he said.
Owalo said the foundation is an agent of necessity to empower the youths in sports to enable them acquire sponsorships and increase their income.
The tournament attracted 26 schools-13 boys and 13 girls- with 390 students taking part.
Agoro Sare High (Homa Bay) won the 2024 Eliud Owalo basketball tournament title after beating Nyanza champions Onjiko Boys (Kisumu) 55 to 29 points.
The winners were awarded trophies and cash prizes. All the participating teams were also awarded, with each team receiving Sh 20,000 and Sh 500 worth airtime for each player.
In the third place playoff, Maseno School (Kisumu) beat Nyanchwa (Kisii) 37 against 27 points.
Onjiko defeated Maseno 34-32 points in semifinals to qualify for finals while Agoro won 64-27 points against Nyanchwa in semis to proceed to finals.
In the girls’ category, Ng’iaya Girls (Siaya) beat Tuk Jowi (Migori) 65 to 38 points to lift the basketball title.
Ng’iya Girls school chief principal Hellen Juma lauded the girls for displaying good performance after facing a strong team, Nyakach Girls.
In the semifinals, Ng’iya beat Nyakach 30 against 20 points to qualify for finals. Juma said the girls were well prepared from the beginning of the tournament.
“The girls were determined and out to grab the trophy. They were hardworking both in practice and even academics, and know how to balance between sports and academics,” she said.
Ng’iya won all seven basketball matches during the tournament.
The best talented boys and girls are scouted and sponsored by Strathmore university and USIU, Kenyatta University, Zetech university and University of Nairobi.
Kenya Sports of Academy (KAS) and Kenya Basketball Federation officials scouted players during the tournament.
On Saturday, KAS director John Okwemba said their team were scouting players
Homa Bay county UDA chairman Kennedy Obuya hailed Owalo for sponsoring the sports such as football and basketball aimed at nurturing talents in the region.
Beside talent growth, Obuya said sports bring the community together and keep youths away from drugs and crime.