Nairobi City Thunder face SA's Giants in decisive basketball match

The choice of words between Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) coach Bradley Ibs and his captain Tylor Ongwae summed it all up.

After a nervous 89-62 victory against Uganda’s Namuwongo Blazers on Wednesday, NCT are cautious ahead of their decisive East Division Elite 16 duel against Johannesburg Giants today at Kasarani.

Victory for NCT against Johannesburg Giants, who were to play Namuwongo Blazers on Wednesday night, will see them book the ticket to the semi-finals from Pool A.

Last year, the NCT made history as the first Kenyan team to qualify for the BAL, winning the East Division Elite 16, having made their debut in the Road to the BAL Group Phase, finishing second.

In Pool B, Ferroviario da Beira from Mozambique launched their campaign soundly, beating Bravehearts of Malawi 78-66 as Dar City from Tanzania rallied from behind to tame Matero Magic from Malawi 85-70.

NCT had to dig deep after trailing 13-10, 25-23 and 30-29 to lead 43-40 at the break before discovering their glint in the second half for the victory.

Ibs reckoned that Namuwongo Blazers presented a difficult and physical game to them and it took mental toughness to play through for victory. 

“First games are always big. We were rusty at the start but settled in the game. I think we just needed to get out and fight after our free style approach was interrupted,” said Ibs. “The players did what was expected of them in such an environment.”

Ibs expect an equally tough battle against newcomers Johannesburg Giants whom they will approach differently but in a focused way. “We are not dismissing Johannesburg since we don’t take our opponents for granted. We want to get to the best competitive position as we can.”

He noted that his team’s chemistry and discipline has grown with players playing confidently in their specific roles. “Having a chance to play at this stage makes us feel we belong to that top-flight game,” said Ibis.

Ongwae said they had an amazing defence in the second half even though they missed scoring a lot of points.

“There are those nights you will just miss some of the simplest shots like today but we were good defensively,” said Ongwae, who vowed an improved show against Johannesburg Giants. “We are solid like never before having trained together for long.”

NCT had to do without their combo guard who withdrew with an injury but welcomed David Deng Kongor Deng of South Sudan, formerly of the Congolese champions Chaux Sport.

“We will miss Garang, having been part of this campaign from the start and wish him quick recovery,” said Ibis, who praised Kongor Deng for fitting in the team fast enough.

It was a game of two halves with Blazers taking the game to NCT in the first half, leading 13-5 at one point. But the Ugandans wilted to lose 27 points in the second half as the hosts tossed to their hard-earned victory.

The teams that will prevail in the semifinals scheduled for Saturday will qualify for the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Nile Conference.

The Conference contests are in three faces; Nile Conference, Sahara Conference and Kalahari Conference.  Two top placed teams at the conferences and the next best two qualify for the final play-offs.