Nairobi City Thunder Target BAL Return After Dominant Season Opener in Front of Home Crowd

Nairobi City Thunder Target BAL Return After Dominant Season Opener in Front of Home Crowd

The Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) opened their Basketball Africa League (BAL) qualifying campaign with a decisive 89-62 victory over fellow East African club Namuwongo Blazers inside the Kasarani Indoor Arena. The team that made their debut in the Nile Conference earlier in the year sent a clear message to the Road to BAL rivals: They are gunning for a second consecutive BAL appearance.

Lance Thomas and Albert Odero led the scoring for NCT with 18 and 16 points, respectively, with Thomas grabbing five rebounds while Odero registered six rebounds. Michael Ogechi and Tylor Ongwae also contributed significantly with 14 and 13 points. Defensively, BAL household name, Ater Majok, anchored the paint with a team-high 11 rebounds. For the Blazers, only two players reached double figures: Jovan James Mooring posted 15 points and three rebounds, and James Okello finished with 11 points.

The first half of the game saw the Blazers challenge the hosts, keeping the score tight and even holding an early lead after the opening quarter. Jovan James Mooring scored eight quick points to establish an 11-5 lead and force an early NCT timeout. The hosts slowly clawed their way back, and a long-range jump shot from Tylor Ongwae tied the game at 15. Despite a competitive first quarter, the Thunder still trailed 25-23.

The momentum then shifted decisively before halftime as Eugene Adera's fast-break layup gave NCT a 29-28 lead, which was soon extended by a David Deng Kongor Deng three-pointer. Although the Blazers kept the deficit within five points, a three-pointer from Lance Thomas, which was his third of the half, gave Nairobi a narrow three-point cushion at the break as they closed out with a five-point win (20-15).

However, the Thunder's performance after halftime proved overwhelming, as they outscored the Ugandan side by 27 points to secure a commanding win. The third quarter belonged entirely to the Thunder.

Albert Odero, quiet in the first half with just five points, erupted for nine points early in the period, including a three-pointer. Thomas and Ongwae pushed the lead into double digits, and a dominant 25-11 quarter, fueled by 11 points from Odero, gave NCT a commanding 67-51 lead.

The Blazers had no answer in the final period, as the Thunder maintained their intensity to close out the game with a 22-11 run.

NCT’s victory saw them control the board, outpacing the Blazers 24-8 on fast breaks, a direct result of their dominant 61-47 rebounding advantage and 20 offensive rebounds.

Africabasket caught up with 25-year-old American point guard Chase Adams, who recently joined the home team after the win, and he attributed the victory to the massive home-court support they got in the arena.

“I think obviously we started off slow, but thanks to the support of the fans and the people who were loud in here and that helped bring the energy. We got a couple of dunks, a couple of steals, and that's really what did it.”

Adams who assured fans of cleaning up their slow start in subsequent games added,

“I'm not really mad at the fouls because we got at least seven other players on the bench that's ready to come in and keep the momentum and energy going the same way it was when those players came out but we will definitely clean it up in the next couple of games, but I'm not disturbed at the three fouls, It just showed our aggression tonight.”

NCT will next be in action on Thursday against the Johannesburg Giants of South Africa, while Namuwongo Blazers will be back in action on Wednesday against the same outfit.

[Photography Courtesy of FIBA/Road to BAL]