Bitok wary of Kenya in Zone Five qualifies

National volleyball team head coach Paul Bitok has penciled out Kenya as Rwanda’s biggest threat in the Zone 5 volleyball championship scheduled for March 23-30. The week-long tournament that also doubles as a qualifier for the All Africa Games scheduled to take place in Maputo-Mozambique in September is expected to attract 11 teams which include: Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, Egypt, Tanzania, Somalia, and Eritrea.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Paul Bitok

National volleyball team head coach Paul Bitok has penciled out Kenya as Rwanda’s biggest threat in the Zone 5 volleyball championship scheduled for March 23-30.

The week-long tournament that also doubles as a qualifier for the All Africa Games scheduled to take place in Maputo-Mozambique in September is expected to attract 11 teams which include: Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, Egypt, Tanzania, Somalia, and Eritrea.

Bitok, himself a Kenyan, told Times Sport yesterday that since Egypt has a direct ticket to Maputo, after being crowned champions in the 9th All Africa Games, Kenya is the only serious obstacle to Rwanda’s hopes of taking part in the All Africa Games.

"Kenya will be our biggest obstacle but we are working on how to exploit their weakness. The Kenyan team is not good at reception, so we will concentrate on having good service,” noted the former Kenyan international.

Meanwhile, Bitok is set to trim down the provisional squad to 12 players from 17 this weekend. The national team will play a friendly against Kigali Volleyball Club tomorrow.

Ends