NAIROBI (Kenya) – Nairobi City Thunder will head to the fifth edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) as champions of the Elite 16 of the Eastern Division, after defeating Kriol Star of Cape Verde 99-86 .
It was a repeat of the group stage match which saw Kriol’s only defeat (104-71) before facing the hosts in the final.
The locals took the advantage 14-11, but the islanders did not give up, the first quarter ending with a score of 27-22 in favor of the protégés of Brad Ibs.
In a half that saw seven lead changes and two ties, most in the first quarter, Thunder went on a 30-19 run in the second quarter, with Ariel Okall leading the charge with 11 points to put Thunder returned to the locker room with an advantage to take a lead of 16 points (57-41).
THE TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH: The Thunder’s comeback in the second quarter to take a 16-point lead, which increased to 20 points in the first two minutes of the third quarter, gave the hosts the momentum needed to dominate the match. The match went through quarters of 27-22, 30-19, 23-16, before the Cape Verdeans moved to 29-19 in the final period.
THE HEROES: What a match for Garang Diing! The winger made 4 of 5 shots to finish with 20 points, two more than Ken Wachira. However, it was Eugene Adera who showed heroics with 31 efficiency, the highest mark of the match. He had a double-double with 14 assists and 12 points, adding six defensive rebounds and as many steals in the victory.
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: Patrick McGlynn, who was the hero for Kriols, was certainly missed in a match which the hosts dominated from the second quarter onwards. The hosts scored 32-15 on highlights, 29-12 on turnovers and scored 44-13 off the bench to claim victory. Both teams made 12 of 29 shots from behind the arc.
CONCLUSION : With both teams achieving their goal in Nairobi, they played for glory and honors with the hosts once again proving too strong for the islanders.
THEY SAID: “It was difficult to play against this team with a small squad. We couldn’t compete with them because they had a full squad. We missed Patrick McGlynn, who played an important role in our journey. We tried to fight until the end, but they were the better team. Congratulations to the Thunder for winning and qualifying. Now we have time to prepare better for the BAL and we will be ready.” Hugo Da Silva Salgado, entrant of Kriol Star.
“It was an amazing experience to go on a 5-0 run in front of our fans who continued to come out for us every game. We learned a lot and when we start preparing for conferences we will know what it takes But we’ll want to keep some of the things we’ve done, like creating good chemistry within the team.” Bradley Ibs, trainer of Nairobi City Thunder.
FIBA
