- Martin Kitong’o has coached the Friends School Kamusinga basketball programme for over two decades, helping the Tigers consistently represent Western Province nationally.
- The team has achieved notable results, including a 2009 national runners-up finish and a 2026 KSSSA semi-final appearance featuring an 82-34 win over Sabunley.
- Kitong’o has produced several players who advanced to university and professional basketball, including Tylor Ongwae.
For more than two decades, Martin Kitong’o has been at the heart of the basketball programme at Friends School Kamusinga (FSK), quietly moulding generations of young players into competitive athletes.
While the Bungoma-based school is widely recognised for its dominance in hockey, with 19 national titles to its name, Kitong’o has helped establish basketball as another major sporting force at the institution. Under his guidance, FSK’s boys have consistently represented Western Province at the national secondary schools championships since 2004.
Kitong’o’s journey has been defined by patience, discipline and an emphasis on the fundamentals of the game. Many of the players who joined his programme were Form One students with little or no experience in basketball. Through structured training, discipline and relentless practice, they developed into players capable of competing at the highest level of school basketball.
The team’s record includes a national runners-up finish in 2009 and a third-place finish in 2011. The Tigers continued to demonstrate their strength in the 2026 Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) championships in Kisumu, where they reached the semi-finals. Along the way, they produced an emphatic 82-34 victory over Sabunley.
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Kitong’o’s training philosophy is built around discipline, defence and repetition, with early-morning shooting sessions forming part of the programme. For him, success starts with mastering the basics. “Fundamentals” is a message that has become synonymous with his coaching approach, as he emphasises ball control, shooting, defensive positioning and teamwork before anything else.
His influence has also extended beyond the school basketball court. Several players who passed through the Kamusinga programme have gone on to play at university and professional levels, including for institutions such as the University of Nairobi and Strathmore Blades. Among the notable alumni is Kenya international Tylor Ongwae, a former Kamusinga student who has represented the national team, the Kenya Morans, and later played professional basketball abroad, including for Bakken Bears.
For former and current players, Kitong’o represents more than a coach. He is a mentor whose influence has helped shape their sporting careers and instilled values of discipline and perseverance.
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At a school better known nationally for hockey, Kitong’o has spent years ensuring that basketball also has a strong identity. His work has helped turn the FSK basketball team into the Tigers, a side respected for its discipline, defensive intensity and competitive spirit.
For Kitong’o, however, the focus remains simple: develop young players, teach them the fundamentals and give them the foundation to succeed both on and off the court.
By Jeff Kirui
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