Nairobi City Thunder Misses BAL Kalahari Conference Play-offs Slot, Aims Ending On A High

PRETORIA, South Africa, Apr 5 – After being eliminated with one game to play, Nairobi City Thunder will face the unbeaten RSSB Tigers of Rwanda in their last Basketball Africa League (BAL) Kalahari Conference dead ruber game on Sunday as curtains close at the SunBet Arena.

Thunder bowed out after hosts Johannesburg Giants were beaten 110-72 by Libya’s Al Ahly Ly on the penultimate date of the event Saturday night.

The result meant that Tanzania’s Dar City, which in the earlier tip-off lost to Tigers 104-92, booked a slot to the playoffs, joining Al Ahly Ly, RSSB, and Angola’s Petro de Luanda.

Competing for the second season in a row, Thunder exited in the same stage as last year and will leave to fight for another day as their goal of reaching the play-offs for the first time continues.

Ahead of the final game, Thunder will miss the services of shooting guard Albert Odero, who is set to undergo a scan after suffering an Achilles injury during their tie against Al Ahly Ly.

“Odero is being examined, as the coach said. It’s a big loss for us, especially after he played well in our game against Al Ahly Ly, he gave his all,” power forward Josh Nzeakor told Capital Sport.

Commenting ahead of the Tigers clash, the American-Nigerian added, “We have to find out what the game plan is for the Tigers, and execute it better than what we did in our last game. It’s up to us as players to dictate the pace and finish on a high.

Speaking to Capital Sport after their win, RSSB Tigers head coach Henry Mwinuka said he will rotate his squad in the Nairobi City Thunder clash.

“We are playing back-to-back, so we need a recovery. I will rotate a lot of the players to avoid injuries because two of my players got injured, so I don’t want to risk it ahead of the playoffs,” the Tigers coach said.

Meanwhile, Tigers Craig Randall set two BAL records while helping his team extend their unbeaten run to four games.

Craig shot 18-for-36 from the floor, including an impressive 11-for-24 from the three-point line, setting a new BAL record with his 54 points.

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