Kenya national men’s team volleyball coach Elisha Aliwa feels victory against Gambia in Sunday’s match will be key if they are to reach the final.
He said it is important that they finish top of Group ‘A’ if they are to get a favourable fixture for the quarter-finals. “If we finish top of the group, It means we will get number four of the other pool and, therefore, the semi-final will almost be a guarantee,” he noted.
He said: 'There are no easy teams in this event and the secret behind is to train hard.”
Wafalme, as the team is known, saw off hosts Ghana 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-14) in their second match of the ongoing African Games at Borteyman Sports Complex in Accra.
This was the second match Kenya was winning after beating Chad with a similar margin of 25-16,25-22,25-16 in their opening match.
Against Ghana, Kenya started badly with the hosts dominating the early exchanges. However, Wafalme later changed the tide to stay ahead in the first set. The story was the same in the second set, where they bolted at some point never to look back after exchanging leads with the hosts. The third set belonged to Kenya from the word go as they tightened the screws on the Ghana team.
Aliwa said the teams he saw in the 2011 African Games as a player, were no longer the same.
\“ Every team has improved and one can not afford to be complacent. Teams like Gambia and Ghana which were average then are now a force to reckon with,” he said.
He said teams like Egypt, Tunisia and Cameroon will pose a big threat but they will strategise for semis once they clear with quarters. “ For us, it’s one step at a time and we can only talk about semis once we clear the quarters.”
Wafalme’s captain Ben Meli said he is happy they won the second match in a row. “It has been difficult because all these teams are good and we must stay focused.
“ First, we must reach the quarters before strategising for the semis. Teams have improved and those who were down 10 years ago are no longer pushovers.”
