Road to BAL: Wet Nyayo leaves bitter taste for Kriol Star on debut

Kenya is hosting the Road to BAL (Basketball Africa League) Elite 16 East Division, the last stage of qualification for the premier African men's club competition in its fifth edition. 

Host team Nairobi City Thunder have done an amazing job keeping the home fans entertained, winning their second match of Group A to move closer to the semis set for Monday 2 December at Kasarani Indoor Arena. 

Road to BAL: Odero eager to propel Thunder to historic qualification

With the Thika Road- based facility unavailable for the opening two days of the eight-team competition, organisers were forced to move action to the Nyayo Gymnasium, the home of Kenyan basketball.

All went well on the opening day, with fans coming out in number to support their home team. 

Things, however, got murky on day two when the court became almost unplayable, three minutes to the end of the third game as the heavens opened up.

An unsightly scene that had the match stopped for a few minutes, it exposed the country's complacency in keeping our sporting facilities in pristine condition. 

While the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) could be forgiven for this, it begs the question why the stadia management has constantly overlooked the indoor facilities when giving the Nyayo Stadium a facelift.

Almost half of the next match was played in similar conditions, and Kriol Star head coach Hugo Miguel Da Silva Salgado did not hold off on his post-game interview, blaming this for his star player's supposed injury that slowed them down as they lost 104-71 to Nairobi City Thunder. 

"Thunder were definitely better than us today but I believe we could have done better. We lost Patrick McGlynn in the second match of the game because it was raining. He slipped and hurt his Achilles but he tried to play through it. An injury on our best player changed the game. Playing the home team on their court was not a problem, the wet court floor was," The Portuguese who has coached Galito Basket in Portugal's topflight, with stints in Iceland, Norway and Czech Republic offered.

McGlynn played just over 30 minutes, finishing as the game's top scorer with 17. He dropped 21 in their win against Bravehearts on the opening day.

The coach was, however, quick to point out that Kasarani's conditions, where they play their last group match against South Africa's MBB Blue Soldiers on Sunday 1 December, will be better and he hopes for a better show to qualify for the semis.

The two sides head to the game on a 1-1 show after two games. 

"We are on what I would call mission impossible as we had little time to train together," the tactician who had to assemble his troops just four days to the competition after they were extended a wild card offered. "We only had one training session after arriving in Nairobi and with new members to the team it is tough to get things done. We will have Saturday to regroup, train for the next match. We believe this is possible and we will not quit." 

Joel Almeida and Albert Odero

Established in 2024 by the two professional players and brothers Joel and Ivan Almeida through the Kriol Star Foundation, the side is part of an eight-team local league in Cape Verde.

Joel, currently captaining the team in their run, and, Ivan, who featured for Al Ahly Tripoli in the Group Phase, says reaching BAL on their first time of asking would be a dream come true.

However, the shooting guard acknowledges that the Elite 16 is a huge achievement for their side.