Thunder stay perfect ahead of crucial semis

The Kenyan champions face Uganda's City Oilers in the semis, a win guarantees them a ticket to BAL Kenyan basketball champions Nairobi City Thunder made it a perfect 3-0 in group A of the ongoing East Division Elite 16 with a dominant 91-68 win over Malawi's Bravehearts basketball. The Bradley Ibs charges kept their momentum going, despite being tested by the Southern Africans in the initial stages of the game, a 27-14 third quarter pulling them away for victory. The hosts who had the backing of the sizeable fan base at Kasarani went 20-13 up in the opening quarter but the coach Griffin Kalua's men bravely fought in the second quarter, matching Thunder point for point to trail by one (21-20) and head to the locker rooms with an eight point deficit. "We played a good game, despite struggling a bit in the second quarter. Finishing 3-0 is great and having gone past that hurdle, the focus now is on the decider match," coach Ibs said after the game. Ater Majok's jump shot got action going in the second half for Ibs charges, Harouna Abdoulaye (196-G-1992, college: Miami, OH) and Kennedy Wachira (180-PG-1995) shooting from range to take the side's advantage to double digits with 12 at 50-38 halfway through the third. With the game seemingly in a lock, Derrick Ogechi (190-G-1998, college: Midwestern St.) came up for eight, Eugene Adera (203-SG-1997) adding six as Ibs' second rotation made an immediate impact, ending the period 68-47. The hosts made it a 20-point game four minutes into the final stanza at 79-59, Ogechi taking it further 87-61, again, from behind the arc to send Kasarani wild as the fans chanted "soo" urging the home side to reach the 100-point mark as has been in the last two wins. They, however, came nine points short. Ogechi led the side's offense, scoring 18 with 3-of-6 from range with Garang Diing's 10 rebounds the highest for the side.
Courtesy of: mozzartsport.co.ke