Nairobi City Thunder Pray For A Good Friday Ahead Of Al Ahly Ly Crunch In BAL Kalahari Conference

PRETORIA, South Africa, Apr 3 – With only two games left, Nairobi City Thunder head coach Brad Ibs has exuded confidence that his charges will finish off the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Kalahari Conference on a high as they prepare to face Libyan champions Al Ahly Ly today, Friday evening at the SunBet Arena.

The Kenyan Champions face a must-win game in their remaining two ties for them to increase their chances of making history by qualifying for the playoffs for the first time.

Entering the game with one win and two losses, Ibs is very aware of the tough challenge that awaits them as they face a team that is in a similar situation to them.

“With the two games remaining, I can say the vibes in our locker room are really positive. We know we have had bad stretches in this tournament, so we need to mature past that, and if we do that, we can get wins in the remaining two games,” Ibs told Capital Sport.

With Shooting Guard Albert “Kenya Airways” Odero finding his fitness, the head coach is expected to give him more minutes.

“Everyone was energized to see Albert play. We were cautious to limit his minutes with the injury he has had. Generally, he felt well, we will continue to monitor his situation ahead of the next two games,” Ibs said.

Shooting Guard Derrick Ogech, who starred in their last game, recording 20 points, has called his charges to put their heads high and be clinical in their remaining two games.

“We just need to manage our game better, and we will be okay,” the 27-year-old told Capital Sport.

If Al Ahly Ly win against the Thunder, the Libyan champions will improve to 2–2, boosting their best-case scenario of finishing 3–2 at the end of the Conference if they win their last game. The same applies to the Thunder if they beat Al Ahly Ly.

However, if Al Ahly Ly loses to the Thunder, the best they can achieve at the end of the Kalahari Conference is a 2–3 record, provided they beat the Johannesburg Giants in their final game on Saturday, 4 April.

If the Thunder lose to Al Ahly Ly on Friday, they will drop to 1–3 with one game left, and the best they can achieve is a 2–3 record if they beat the RSSB Tigers on Sunday, 5 April.

City Thunder are currently placed fifth in the standings, ahead of the home team Johannesburg Giants, who are yet to register a win.
Surprise package RSSB Tigers of Rwanda are comfortably leading the chat with a perfect win, Angola’s Petro de Luanda are second with two wins and one loss, Dar City of Tanzania occupies third spot, while Al Ahly Ly are fourth.

Thunder’s Lance Thamas leads the overall blocks ahead of Tigers’ Lenard while Dar City’s Foster is third.

-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Pretoria , South Africa-

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