Few schools have achieved the feat in their first attempt, as the new kings floored St Mary’s Yala in the sub county, former champions Ambira High School in the county and recently edging out heavyweights Maseno School and defending champions Agoro Sare High School at regionals.
But every voyage begins with a first tentative step. And for Sawagongo, that initial journey into the great unknown commenced in 2021 when English and Literature teacher come basketball tactician, Leonard Okuku joined the school.
Okuku, who was previously with Maranda and Ambira Boys, began building the team in 2022, and they can now reap the fruits of hard work and consistency.
The Literature teacher said missing out on the regionals in 2021 with the then Siaya County champions Ambira due to COVID-19 motivated him to work even harder when he joined Sawagongo.
“I can say that Sawagongo has a team that can lift the national trophy since the team is well-balanced. We have very good guards, forwards and big men. Flooring Agoro who did not lose many players from their stellar year last year, shows we are hungrier,” said Okuku.
Sawagongo have been pooled against former national champions Laiser Hill, Lukenya School, and a North Eastern outfit yet to be determined, with the regionals slated for April 2.
“Laiser Hill and Lukenya are good teams, but basketball is made in Nyanza. Our strategy is to tackle each game at a time because each team has its strengths. Lukenya school way of playing is different from Laiser Hill and all the other teams,” he added.
The secret in Sawagongo’s recent rise lies within the support the team is receiving from the administration led by Chief Principal Maurice Ogutu through club-level infrastructure investment.
“We are preparing this team to win the Nationals this year and represent Kenya in the East African Championships. My dream is to have my team represent Kenya 2025.
“I aspire to expose my players to international scouts to enable them to access scholarships in various institutions of learning and abroad.
“We also aspire to have most, if not all my Basketball players join the national Basketball team and represent my country,” said Ogutu.
Chan Aweng, the Sawagongo captain who is in Form Four, added that it would be a perfect send-off for the KCSE candidates to bow out of high school with a national trophy.
“We started the journey four years ago and now it’s time to finish the job. We know we are underdogs being our first time at the nationals but we did not get here on a silver platter but by winning games nobody expected.
“The team will go to Mombasa with the same spirit. Underrate Sawagongo at your own peril,” said Aweng.
Principal Ogutu emphasized on importance of balancing co-curricular activities and academics, stating that he has prepared his students to do well in both.
“I take my players through continuous academic guidance, academic motivation and academic morale boosting. Personally, am gifted in Motivational Leadership and I do for different schools.
“I use this gift cheer up my players. I give examples of my former students and players success, I invite such former successful players to inspire them. I make my Players believe and trust that Talent plus Academic prowess is equal to unmatched success in life. The players are not given any special privileges to make known, it’s academic first and others follow. My public speaking skills have enabled me pin them to academic work,” said Ogutu.
At the Nyanza Region finals, Sawagongo averaged 60.2 points per game after winning all their matches. In the preliminaries, the Siaya County champions saw off hosts Rapogi Boys 60-44, Ringa Boys 65-42, and Maseno School 65-61.
In the semis, they knocked out Kisii champions Nyanchwa 53-44 before stunning last year’s national finalists Agoro Sare 58-51 to win the Nyanza title for the first time in their history.
A top two finish in Group B will position Sawagongo for a semi-match against either defending champions Dr Aggrey, Piooner, Dagoretti High, and Friends School Kamusinga who are in Group A