NAIROBI, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Kenya face a stern test on their inaugural showing at the Africa basketball men's senior teams' championships, which will be held in Bamako, Mali from July 19 to 28.
Head coach Cliff Owuor, however, is banking on the superior tactical advantage his side possess to overcome Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the group stage. Owuor has termed the two rivals as teams with a superior physical advantage.
The women's tournament will be held in Dakar, Senegal in August.
"I have been made aware of the fact that our two opponents are taller and physical. But they too lack the tactical element to dominate at this level of competition. If we approach these matches from a strong tactical standpoint, we will get results," said Owuor on Monday in Nairobi.
Basketball's global governing body FIBA on Monday released fixtures for the tournament, placing Kenya, who stunned Egypt in the zonal qualification in Kampala, Uganda a fortnight ago, in Pool B alongside Nigeria and the DRC.
Group A has hosts Mali paired with Cote d'Ivoire and Algeria, while Pool C will feature Angola, Morocco and Chad. Tunisia, Egypt and Guinea have been placed in Pool D.
The top teams in each group will advance directly to the quarterfinals. The teams ranked second and third will play an elimination round, with the winners also joining the last eight.
