NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 12 – Two-time Kenyan Basketball Premier League champions Nairobi City Thunder will intensify their preparation for their second appearance at the Basketball League, with a high-stakes friendly match dubbed ‘Thunder nights’ at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.
The match will involve the entire Thunder team, plus additions from some of the top talents from other teams in the capital, playing against each other.
It will be a duel between ‘Team Orange’ and ‘Team Blue’, a match that is tailored to build intensity and competitiveness ahead of the continental tournament in Pretoria, South Africa at the end of the month.
Thunder have spruced up their team with Albert Odero returning for BAL action from his stint in Rwanda with RSSB Tigers while Lance Thomas, who helped the team secure the BAL ticket during last year’s Elite 16 tournament held in Nairobi.
Also joining Thunder for their BAL sojourn is Nigerian-American Josh Nzeakor. The trio will be on show at the Nyayo Gymnasium on Thursday night.
On Friday, Thunder will have yet another massive match, with a showdown against Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), a repeat of last year’s final where the champions washed out the dockers 3-0 in the best of five series.
On Sunday, Thunder will play their fourth league match, when they take on University of Nairobi (UoN) Terror at the same venue, with a 6pm kick off.
Thunder are gearing up for their second consecutive BAL appearance, and hope to do better than their debut last season when they won only a single match.
The Kenyan champions are in the Kalahari Conference, where they will battle out against home side Johannesburg Giants and Tanzania’s Dar City, teams they beat in the Elite 16. Also lining up for battle will be APR of Rwanda and Libya’s Al Ahly, familiar opponents whom they faced in Kigali last year.
The only new opponent in their way will be Angola’s Petro de Luanda.
The top four teams in the six-team Conference will advance to the finals which will be played in Kigali.
