Thunder strike ANU for first victory

Nairobi City Thunder Coach Sadat Gaya will have new recruit Thomas Kioko and long serving Griffin Ligare as well as Jerry Andare to thank for his side's first victory in Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men's league. 

Playing in their match of the season, Nairobi City Thunder led from the first whistle to the last to defeat varsity side Africa Nazarene University (ANU) 74-66 for a first win on Sunday afternoon.

The quiet assassin, Kioko, who joined Thunder from relegated Embakassi Youth (EMYBA) who are yet to make an appearance in division one, scored 22, proving the most dangerous of Gaya's weapons deployed against ANU. Ligare and Andare made 17 points each. 

"We started well and put pressure on ANU in the first quarter. This allowed us a decent advantage heading in to the second quarter. We were, however, horrible in the second period and we gave them the chance to make a comeback instead of putting the match out of reach.

ANU's youthful squad, height and reach helped them turn the tables on us. We made stupid fouls, could not rebounds and that made it easy for them to come back. The third quarter felt like a see-saw even though we were in the lead as we would pull away and they would catch almost immediately. 

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The fourth quarter was down to experience. ANU played amazing basketball and i still feel we did not give the best, despite the win. We take the win but we have alot of work to do," said coach Gaya. 

Thunder led 24-16 in the first quarter but ANU had a better second quarter scoring 21 against the eventual winner's 22. The third quarter ended 12-14 in favour of ANU and the final one 16-15 for Thunder. 

Victor Mwoka (17) and Paul Patrick (16) top scored for the Mike Oluoch-led varsity side but it was not enough to handle the brilliant Thunder. 

"We had alot of turnovers our defense did not work well as our rotation was poor. We gave them alot of shots which worked in their favour as theirs were dropping. We did not play as a team and that shows we have a long way to go. 

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Coming into this match off of a victory against Umoja, the players might have been overconfident and alot was taken for granted. Either that or we played the name given this is our first meeting with Thunder who have been a top team in the league. We have adjustments to make," offered coach Oluoch.