Spreadtruth Tigers silent rise among the giants

A few years back, KSBC in partnership with Spread Truth Ministries had a vision of similar ordeal; youth, ministry and sports. Most recently Spread Truth Africa sports fest was held at various basketball courts in Nairobi, Kenya with overwhelming participation by both male and female youth. The crown at stake was well in the six figure digit and as we’d all come to expect the competition was tough.

True vision starts from within and that was the thought back in 2019 when the Spread Truth Tigers was born. Youth being the key aspect in this project, there was a decent turnout of talented sportsmen who took the challenge. A team of U-23’s joined up to form a roster that no one believed would become a pebble in the shoes of many teams in Nairobi. The true test was to come sooner rather than later having established themselves as the future young core of Kenyan basketball.

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.

Colin Powell

Some of the most notable players at the time included Kenyan international Bramwel Muchina (Center, KU), Lewis Njenga (SG, Nibs College), Elias Guya (SF/SG, KU), Thomas Ragen (PG, Zetech) and many more. However, with the looming COVID pandemic globally the movement was slightly intervened. Circle back two years later (2022) with the upcoming Spread Truth Africa sports fest, the team was again recalled to duty with some other new recruits to build a solid team. Eugene Adera (PG/SG) led the limelight of new faces with newly capped Kenyan international Larry Shavanga (SF/PF, USIU) also joining up. With this solid foundation, the sky was the limit for the young stars and they did not disappoint.

Under the tutelage of great coaches Ken Lanyo (Spread Truth), Allan Origa (RBBC), Wyclife Yoga, Frank Mwenda and Chris Ismail (KSBC) the team developed a killer instinct for giant slaying. During this short tenure since the COVID pandemic, the team managed to bag gold in all the competitions they’ve participated in. One special occasion was the Spreadtruth sports fest where they entertained the crowd and special guests from Spread Truth ministries, notably, President & Executive Director Spread Truth Jerry McCorkle, and Executive Director, Spread Truth Africa Reverend Hamisi Kirenga, on their way to lifting the cup in the finals.

Colin Powell once said, “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work” ,and this dream has since been turning into reality through the hard work of both the players and all parties involved. My hope is that it never comes to an end soon as our empowered youth take on other challenges in the name of ministry and sports.

On behalf of my colleagues on the Spread Truth Tigers team, I’d like to thank Spread Truth Ministries for such support of the youth and would definitely be looking forward to more engagements in future. A small gesture always goes a long way in the end and to that we are appreciative. Also, a special shout-out to Jeff Collins, partner to the organization, who stayed with us since day 1 of the sports fest and also helped with officiating in some of the games. Jeff, before I forget, if you’re reading this I told you so.