Madina Okot's basketball odyssey 

 

ALEXANDRIA (Egypt) - Madina Okot ditching volleyball at Bishop Sulumeti High School for basketball at Kaya Tiwi might be one of the best decisions the 1.98m (6ft  6in) post player has made in her life.

In a short five years, that witnessed COVID-19 interruptions, she has carved a name for herself in African basketball featuring for both Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) locally and internationally as well as the Kenyan national teams. 

The 19-year-old admits that she was not keen to make the switch when she was first approached but the Kaya Tiwi administration was keen to have her and they went through her parents to push their agenda.

Okot arrived at the Kwale County-based school in Kenya's coastal region in August 2019 with no knowledge of the sport but ready to learn.

"They had to teach me from scratch, from dribbling to the rules of the game and everything in between," she tells FIBA.basketball. "It was difficult at first but I loved scoring as that was the easiest part for me thanks to my height." 

Her new school has, for years, served as a feeder for the Kenyan champions KPA and four months after joining the school she was incorporated into the squad.

"As soon as I joined KPA, basketball and school activities were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and I was out of action for months. I had my debut in the top-tier league against Eldonets several months later when the suspension of sporting activities was lifted," she narrates. 

Her basketball journey suffered as another suspension, albeit short-lived, was issued in March 2021 due to a spike in COVID-19-positive cases. 

"Behind the scenes, I had to put in a lot of work as I needed to be able to compete at the highest level. Unlike many players, I had started late and was still learning but I kept myself motivated to get better with each game," she offers.

When the COVID-19 dust finally settled, Okot worked to establish herself as one of KPA's key players and in 2022, she received her maiden national team assignment in the 3x3 version of the sport. 

She guided the U23 team to victory in Nairobi when her country hosted the 2022 FIBA Nations League Africa (South) in July, qualifying for the World Championships played in Romania later that year.

Two weeks later, she broke through to the 3x3 senior team that represented Kenya in the 2022 Commonwealth Games hosted in Birmingham.

The team that also has KPA's Victoria Reynolds, Hilda Indasi and Equity Bank's Melisa Akinyi won one match in the group stage, a 21-8 outcome against Sri Lanka to make it to the quarters where they fell 21-12 to England to finish sixth in eight teams.

She was on the road again in September 2022 with the U23 team that had Alexandra Juma, Yvone Atieno and Jacqulyne Kogo where they played for two losses against Japan and Lithuania to exit the competition. 

The same year she made her continental club competition debut with KPA in the FIBA Africa Women's Champions Cup held in Maputo, Mozambique. The Antony Ojukwu-led side lost in the quarters 76-70 to eventual winners Alexandria Sporting Club but Okot finished the competition as the continent's top rebounder averaging 12.3 boards per game. 

"I had great learning experiences in 2022 that helped me view the game differently and I know the best is yet to come," the soft-spoken Zetech University student summarized her 2022. 

Her journey continues on an upward trajectory, her 2023 having started with an opportunity to feature in one of the grandest basketball stages, the inaugural women's Nike Hoop Summit, the only African player to make the World Select Women's Team roster. 

"My dream is to play in the WNBA and getting the opportunity to feature in the Summit where we played against some of the best in the USA team and had world-renowned coaches to learn from heightened my resolve to play in one of the best leagues in the world," she offered. 

 

In addition to her league title with KPA, she was part of the team that won the Zone Five qualifiers for the inaugural FIBA Africa Women's Basketball League (AWBL) where she averaged 13.8 points per game, 13.8 rebounds and 24.8 in efficiency in four matches to make the team of the tournament.

At the continental competition ongoing in Alexandria, she has posted a 19.3 efficiency ranking so far with 11 points per game and 11.3 rebounds. 

2023 was also the year she made her debut in the national 5-aside team for Kenya Lionesses during the FIBA  Women's AfroBasket qualifiers averaging 9.8 points per game and 14.4 rebounds. 

The biggest reward for the teenager for the year so far is, easily, being crowned 3x3 Africa Cup champion in a competition that served as a pre-qualifier to the Paris Olympic Games. 

Playing alongside tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) Natalie Akinyi, Mercy Wanyama and Indasi, the Kenyan side defeated hosts Egypt at the buzzer to keep hopes of making it to the Paris 2024 Olympics alive. 

The best is yet to come for Madina Okot. 

FIBA