Nairobi City Thunder will start their Basketball Africa League (BAL) Elite 16 campaign tonight ( 8 pm) against South Africa’s MBB Basketball at the Nyayo Stadium gymnasium.
The BAL Elite 16 qualifiers are set for November 28 to December 3 at the Kasarani Indoor Arena and the Nyayo Stadium gymnasium.
Founded in 1998, Thunder punched their ticket to the BAL qualifiers by clinching their maiden Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) League title in 2024 after an unbeaten season.
In the first round of qualifiers, Thunder were drawn in Group ‘B’ alongside Burundi’s Urunani, GNBC (Madagascar), JKT (Tanzania) and Beau Vallon Heat (Seychelles).
They finished second in the group with seven points, just one behind Urunani, to secure their place in the Elite 16.
Thunder registered three commanding wins—89-53 against Beau Vallon Heat, 86-63 over JKT, 96-60 against GNBC—and a narrow 88-89 loss to Urunani.
Their opponents, MBB Basketball, are making history as the second South African team to compete in the BAL qualifiers.
Fresh from a national championship win in 2024, MBB advanced directly to the Elite 16.
Thunder head coach Brad Ibs expressed confidence in his team’s chemistry and depth.
“We are excited about the group we have here. The chemistry is strong and the players have been pushing each other to improve. We will be relying on our deep roster throughout this competition,” he said.
Ibs is particularly optimistic about Thunder’s new signings, whose experience at the BAL level could be pivotal.
“Our goal is to finish in the top two among the eight teams here and move to the next round.”
“We are happy with the foreign players we have in the team who have experience in the BAL and competing at the high level. They have a big impact in the games we have played and we will be leaning a lot on them,” he added.
Thunder are in Group ‘A’ alongside MBB, Cape Verde’s Kriol Star and Malawi’s Bravehearts.
Group ‘B’ features Uganda’s City Oilers, Urunani, Zambia’s Matero Magic and South Sudan’s Fox Basketball.
While Ibs remains optimistic, he is cautious about the stiff competition.
“This is a different ball game from the KBF League. The stakes are higher and the talent level is incredible,” he said.
Preparations for the qualifiers were a race against time, with both Nyayo and Kasarani gymnasiums undergoing last-minute renovations.
“Nyayo is nearly done. Workers have been finalising the toilets, roof, changing rooms and lighting. Kasarani is fully ready with the final touches on the floor complete.”
Due to prior bookings, Kasarani will only host games from Sunday onward while Nyayo will handle the action today and Friday.
“Kasarani had been booked earlier for a graduation ceremony so it
will only be open for competition
on Sunday. This doesn’t disrupt our
plans. We’re fully prepared to host
the qualifiers,” Amoko added.
