BAL: Can Nairobi City Thunder bounce back?

Bradley Ibs’ charges, Nairobi City Thunder, are back in action on Thursday, 22 May, from 6 pm (EAT) in the Basketball Africa League (BAL), chasing a maiden victory.

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Action at the BK Arena enters round two, with all four sides clashing for the return legs. Thunder face off with unbeaten Al Ahly Tripoli, a side that the Kenyan team lost to 115-87, a new scoring record for the premier African club competition.

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In their first meeting, the North Africans had a strong start with long-range shots, hitting back-to-back straight three-pointers to take an early 10-0 lead before playing for 24-18 in the opening quarter. Thunder came closest in the second quarter at 39-37 and will hope to bring that same energy to the repeat match as they look to bounce back.

After opening their maiden campaign with a 92-63 loss to hosts APR and being dominated by Tripoli in the second, Thunder lost the chance to get their first victory in the last three seconds of their meeting with South Africa’s MBB, going down 75-74 to a Robinson Opong clutch trey.

“This is our first time, so we are learning game by game. You can see us improving with each game. We are figuring out which combinations work best,” Ibs told BAL.com after their loss to MBB, a side Thunder had dominated in the Road to BAL Elite 16 group matches in Nairobi last year.

The tactician hints at having found their answer to team chemistry after the opening round. But could this trio be key for Thunder’s comeback?

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“There’s a group of guys who were in the starting lineup against MBB, Eugene Adera, Garang Ding, and Tylor Ongwae, and when we see those three guys on the court together, there’s lots of chemistry and tenacity. When you look at their plus-minus, it’s typically our best," he offered.