Bitok tips national volleyball team to go places

Volleyball national team coach Paul Bitok says his team has improved a great deal ahead of the Zone V Qualifiers championships slated to run from November 25 through December 1 at Amahoro Indoor Stadium in Kigali.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Volleyball national team coach Paul Bitok says his team has improved a great deal ahead of the Zone V Qualifiers championships slated to run from November 25 through December 1 at Amahoro Indoor Stadium in Kigali.The Kenyan coach made the remarks on Wednesday after seeing his team beat a select side made up of local players in a friendly match 3-1 (25-19, 27-25, 21-25, 25-23) and extra set 25-8.He said, "We have improved a lot in defence, reception and for the setters; the players have responded well in training and I hope we will do well in the tournament. There is now a spirit of competitiveness in the team than I have seen in the past.”  Meanwhile team skipper Christophe Mukunzi, who plays for Algerian first division side El Fanar, joined camp on Thursday, while Lawrence Yakan Guma, from Etoile Sportive de Setif (Algeria), will link up with his international teammates on Saturday.The team, currently undergoing the final phase of preparations at Amahoro Indoor Stadium, is camping at La Pallisse Hotel Nyandungu.The Zone V Qualifiers tournament will attract five countries, including Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and hosts Rwanda. One team will join Egypt in the continental final qualifying round for next year’s world championships.The final round, which will be played at the start of 2014, will decide the top three teams that will represent Africa at the 2014 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championships to be held in Poland.