Poor feeding cost us-Owuor

Cliff Owuor has admitted poor feeding and lack of gym facilities were the major cause of his team’s not very poor but not so good performance at the just concluded Fiba-Africa Club Championships. He, however, applauded his players for putting up a spirited performance during the championship held in the Angolan capital Luanda. Representing the zone v region, APR finished sixth in what is considered to be the biggest club event on the Fiba-Africa calendar. The Kenyan trainer, who has taken the club to a whole new level since his arrivals in 2005, noted that despite matching into the event as one of the under-dogs, APR pulled off a few shock performances. “We were certainly one of the tournament’s under-dogs because unlike all the other clubs, it was our first time at the competition. “But we held our composure and in the long run pulled off a few shock performances against Benin’s ASPAC and MBC of Guinea to move into the quarter finals,” he admitted. And although the zone five champions couldn’t get past the quarter-final stage, the ex-Kenyan international believes it was a big learning curve for him as coach and the players in general. He said, “We realized that most of the time, we were beaten technically. Our players were not very conversant with the technical aspects of the game”. “We also need to improve on our size. Guys out there were huge. Our players need proper feeding and more time in the gym,” Owuor stressed. The duo of Daniel Okwir (shooting guard) and Prince Ntwari (shooting forward) were APR’s top performers at the nine-day tournament. Owuor believes that APR will be a lot more prepared when the championships roll back next year but only if they would qualify. Angola’s Primiero de Agosto were crowned champions after edging 2006 champions Petro Atletico 61-53 in a thrilling final. It was their third title after victories in 2002 and 2004.Ends