Nairobi City Thunder head coach Bradley Ibs is confident of extending their winning run at the 2025 BAL qualifiers when they take on Burundi’s Urunani today in Dar-es-salaam.
Thunder opened their campaign with a resounding 89-58 victory over BEAU Vallon of Seychelles in Group D action in Dar.
William Davis, better known as ‘Will’ teamed up with American-Nigerian guard Uchenna Iroegbu to power Thunder to their opening triumph.
Davis delivered a game-high 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Iroegbu chipped in with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Ibs is optimistic his squad will carry the same energy into their clash with Urunani.
“I’m confident the boys will step up in our second game,” he said.
Reflecting on the victory over BEAU, Ibs acknowledged a few early slip-ups attributed to first-game nerves.
“We missed some easy lay-ups and had crucial turnovers due to jitters. Even with several friendlies under our belt, it was still the first competitive game,” he remarked.
The game began as a back-and-forth battle, with BEAU taking an early 7-2 lead.
Thunder soon found their rhythm, tying the game at seven before Derrick Ogechi sank a three-pointer to give them a 10-7 advantage.
Although BEAU stayed close, trailing just 20-16 after the first quarter, Thunder surged ahead in the second, out-scoring their opponents 23-13 to carry a 14-point lead into halftime.
Thunder continued their dominance in the third and fourth quarters, pulling away with scores of 19-11 and 27-18 respectively to seal a comfortable win.
Despite the victory, Ibs noted areas for improvement.
“We also got lazy on defence and were not clinical offensively and this small thing contributed to the slow start and we helped them stay in the game longer than we would have wanted,” he added.
Forward Tylor Ongwae echoed the coach’s sentiments, emphasising the need for growth as the qualifiers progress.
“We played hard and stuck together for this win. I know we can get better. With more than a week having not played, we were bound to be rusty and I believe we will be at the top of our game against Urunani.”
Thunder are grouped alongside BEAU, Ururani,
Madagascar’s G.N.B.C and Tanzanian’s J.K.T.