Al Ahly Tripoli broke the BAL scoring record with a 115–87 win over Nairobi City Thunder. Boissy led with 30 points, while Thunder’s second loss raised concerns ahead of their next Nile Conference clash in Kigali, Rwanda.
Last Updated on
May 20, 2025
Nairobi City Thunder suffered a second defeat, falling to fellow debutants Al Ahly Tripoli 115-87 on day two of the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Nile Conference in Kigali, Rwanda.
The scoreline broke the highest-scoring game record in BAL history, previously held by US Monastir since beating GNBC of Madagascar 113-66 on May 17, 2021.
The North Africans raced to a quick start. Nassen Badrush and Deon Thompson started them off shooting from range, and soon, Thunder trailed 10-0, forcing coach Bradley Ibs into a timeout to strategize.
Albert Einstein Odera got action going for Thunder off a trey with 6:32 minutes on the clock in the opening quarter. Thunder trailed 13-5 halfway through, fighting through, but Tripoli remained locked in for a 24–18 lead.
Thompson and Nigerian international Caleb Agada made quick conversions in the opening minute of the second quarter to make it an 11-point game. Evans Ganapamo started Thunder's comeback attempt with a trey, and Taylor Ongwae knocked one down, too, for 31-24.
Soon after, Thunder went on a 6-0 scoring run to cut the gap to just two points, at 39-37, with 4:50 minutes to play in the first half. Ibs charges were shut down for the remainder of the quarter, losing all ground to trail by 15 (53-38) heading to the halftime break.
"Defense was one of the key points of discussion going into the game. We knew they were good with their transition, they did it in the last game and we had put more emphasis on limiting that but they were able to still get many points.
Our second quarter was good as we got some stops and more points on transition. We were able to push the ball like we wanted to and got easy shots. When we play like that we are a good team but when we are not it makes things difficult," a visibly disappointed Uchenna Iroegbu told Africa Basket.
Jaylen Adams and Jean Jacques Boissy became a thorn in Thunder's flesh from beyond the arc, combining 12 points that put the game out of reach for their fellow debutants.
A 28-15 third-quarter show for Fouad Abou Chacra's charges in the third stanza stopped any hopes for a comeback for the first Kenyan side to qualify for BAL.
It was so good that Tripoli was in this match-up that they broke the scoring record and tied Petro de Luanda's BAL record for most three-pointers in a game (20), moving a step closer to the BAL postseason.
Boissy opened the campaign against MBB of South Africa with 28 points and became the first player to score 30 points in a single game this season. Adams added 26, Mohamed Sadi scored 20, and Côte d'Ivoire international Thompson contributed 21 points and 14 rebounds for the North Africans.
Iroegbu led the Thunder in scoring with 18 points and remained upbeat after their second loss in as many games.
“It’s not how we bounce back; it’s a must. We must bounce back. Luckily, being down by that many points doesn’t carry over to the next game. The next game starts 0–0. We have to bring a new mindset and energy to the next game," he told BAL.
"It was a great all-round performance apart from that fourth quarter. Coach had asked us to be better than we were yesterday and I am happy we came out and shit it. Offensively we have a lot of options, our main issue is how to out muscle and defend the other team then we are okay," Agada said.
The 2025 Nile Conference resumes on Tuesday, with Nairobi City Thunder taking on MBB,in a repeat of the Elite 16 East Division meeting, and Al Ahli Tripoli take on hosts, APR.
[Photography Courtesy of The BAL]
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