It was a hard pill to swallow for the Kenya Morans after suffering a heavy defeat from hosts Egypt in the ongoing FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.

The Morans who are currently a handful contingent of only 8 players got outscored in Cairo on July 2; the scores settling at 72-39 in favor of Egypt.

The Kenyans who many would say were fatigued due to the jetlag, having arrived in Cairo quite late, missed chances in the opening quarter under were soon overrun by the Egyptians. With pinpoint tactical display, the Egyptians launched attacks from the wide court areas and soon a barrage of 3-pointers had the scores 8-17 in the first period.

Kenya’s Valentine Nyakinda managed a solo show that still couldn’t get the Morans past the Egyptians. With unattended rebound support from Albert Odero’s 3-pointer attempts, the Morans fell short at the halftime break with the Egyptians leading by 29 points.

The Morans with a breath of fresh air from Koranga and debutant Kennedy Wachira came close in the 3rd quarter with the scores at 14-15. Soon the speed and pinpoint accuracy of the Egyptians in hitting the hoop had the misery put to a close at 8-11 in the final quarter.

Keep in mind, the Kenyan squad coached by Cliff Owour missed their first match against DR Congo on Friday July 1 after failing to travel to Egypt on time owing it to financial and ticketing issues.

The Morans began their quest to qualify for the global festival during the first round held in Dakar, Senegal in February.

So far, a total of 16 teams are battling for 12 slots in the next phase of the qualifiers. Five teams will ultimately at the conclusion of the five-phase qualification window, clinch slots to represent Africa at the 2023 World Cup finals scheduled in Japan, Philippines and Indonesia.

The current third round phase is composed of 16 teams divided into four groups. Groups A – Cape Verde, Mali, Nigeria and Uganda – and B – Cameroon, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tunisia – matches are being played at t BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

Abidjan is hosting Group C, which consists of Angola, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, and Guinea.

Group D, which comprises DR Congo, Egypt, Kenya and Senegal, is centered at Borg Al-Arab Indoor Hall Alexandria in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria.