Thunder two matches from writing history

Kennedy Wachira of Nairobi City Thunder celebrates after scoring against MBB Blue Soldiers during their Basketball Africa League Tournament Elite 16 tournament match at Nyayo  Gymnasium on November Thursday. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

National men’s basketball Premier League champions Nairobi City Thunder are two matches away from writing history as the first Kenyan side to qualify for Basketball Africa League (BAL).

Coach Bradley Ibs' charges have been impressive in the ongoing Road to BAL 2025 Elite 16 East Division qualifiers surpassing the century mark in their first two Group A matches to seal their place in the last four.

They launched their quest with a resounding 102-59 victory against South Africa’s MBB Blue Soldiers before thrashing Cape Verde giants Kriol Stars 104-71 in their second tie.

As the games move to Kasarani Indoor Arena from Nyayo Gymnasium, the Kenyans will be out to end their group campaign on a high when they take on Malawi champions Bravehearts later today.

Coach Ibs has attributed their success to good defensive play and depth in the team. 

“We have shown great defensive play and that has made the games easy for us. We subbed all our first five which is quite unusual and our second five would extend the lead because they are equally good and equal to task," said Ibs.

Going into today’s clash, Thunder captain Tyler Ongwae said that they will stick to their original plan.

“We are not even thinking about the semis for our strategy remains the same, we are focused on our next opponent because we agreed to play a match at a time.”

Thunder lead Group A with four points, a win against Bravehearts will see them finish on top of the standings and book a semi-finals date with either Urunani Basketball Club from Burundi or Uganda’s City Oilers who are likely to qualify in Group B.

Urunani top the group with four points same as City Oilers but have a superior points difference. The two sides will clash today with the winning topping the table while the loser will finish second.

Both Urunani and City Oilers are unbeaten as they face off today in a top of the table clash.

Urunani routed Matero Magic of Zambia 87-34 in their opening tie before dismissing Fox Basketball from South Sudan 70-61 to make it two wins out of two.

City Oilers, who are the only side from the East Division to have featured in BAL, beat Fox Basketball 77-44 and Matero Magic 93-73 to enhance their chances of making it to Africa’s premier men’s club competition for a third season in a row.

In Group A, Kriol and MBB, who are second and third tied on three points from a win and a loss will battle it out with the winner completing the top four list. The two sides lost to homeboys Thunder but remain in the race for the semis slot while Bravehearts will be playing against Thunder for pride since they have no chance of making it out of the group stage.