KPA face Nigerians in Round 16 tie, Malkia Strikers coaches land in Tunisia

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will face Chief Naval Staff Spikers of Nigeria in the African men’s Clubs Championship Round 16 in Tunisia on Wednesday.

KPA won their last Pool “C” match against Iseg Sport (ISE) of Senegal 3-1 (25-19,25-22,20-25,25-20) on Tuesday.

KPA will go into the match as favourites if their preliminary stage performance is anything to go by.

The dockers won two matches and lost one while the West Africans lost all their pool matches.

KPA had defeated Cameroon Sports Volleyball club 3-1 before they fell to Jill Saad Commune Ouled Aduone (JSCOA) of Algeria  3-2.

Sammy Mulinge's charges then recovered to win over Iseg in their last group match.

Naval on the other hand, lost against  Marsa of Tunisia 3-0 and the same set ratio against Zamalek of Egypt.

Mulinge said their opponents may look easy on paper but they are a good side.

“Remember they had tough teams in their pool and therefore they should not be regarded as easy opponents. We haven’t played them before and we don’t know what to expect but we will give the match the seriousness it deserves because they stand between us and a quarter-final slot,” said Mulinge.

In the women’s match, defending champions KCB wrapped up their Pool “B” match with a win against Asca  Saltigue of Senegal 3-0(25-11,25-13,25-15).

KCB lead the pool with nine points after winning all their three matches.

KCB Technical Director Paul Bitok singled out setter Esther Mutinda for praise saying her speed has changed their mode of play.

“Mutinda is combining well with middle blocker Belinda Barasa. The speed is working for us. We have won all the pool matches but the real work awaits us at the Round of 16 and the quarterfinal stage. The three wins is a proof that we are the defending champions,” said Bitok.

“Moim (Mercy) has also done well as the team is built around her. Fast-rising pair of Juliana Namutira and Pauline Chemutai are also showing their worth and I hope they will get a chance to be drafted into the Malkia Strikers team to learn a thing or two,” he added.

Mutinda crossed over from Kenyan champions Kenya Pipeline to KCB this year.

KCB had registered wins against National Alcohol Liquor Factory of Ethiopia 3-0(25-20,25-12,25-9) and Nyong from Cameroon 3-0 (25-07,25-20,25-16) in their previous group matches.

Meanwhile, Pipeline have a date with Co Decaretes of Cote d’Ivoure on Wednesday in their last Pool “C” match.

Pipeline, who settled for the bronze medal last year in Tunisia, have two wins against
 Mouloudia Club d'Alger 3-1(25-21,20-25,25-18,25-21) and Chief Naval Staff Spikers from Nigeria 3-1(25-12,21-25,25-13,27-25).

At the same time, Malkia Strikers’ Brazilian coach Luizomar de Moura landed in Tunisia Wednesday morning to spearhead the selection of the provisional squad for August's Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and next year's Paris Olympic Games in France.

Moura, who was accompanied by team manager Roberto "Beto" Opice Neto, will get the chance to select players from defending champions KCB Women’s Volleyball Team and Kenya Pipeline who are competing in the ongoing African Clubs Championship.

“It will be a combined effort from our local and  FIVB attached coaches. After the selection, the FIVB tacticians will jet back into the country to attend local league matches to scout more players. The provisional squad will then head to Morocco on June 10 for a training camp for 15 days,” said Kenya Volleyball Federation Treasurer Kenneth Tonui.

The team will leave for France for the FIVB Challange Cup between June 25-31. The team will then pitch camp in Miramas, France from July 31 to August 17 courtesy of National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) before they depart to Cameroon for the Cup of Nations set for August 18-30.

The Kenyan technical bench was boosted last  year by the arrival of coaches from Brazil in a development partnership between the Kenya Volleyball Federation and FIVB.