Thunder ready for historic BAL debut

Nairobi City Thunder make their long-awaited Basketball Africa League (BAL) debut on Saturday, 17 May, with a clash against hosts Armee Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) as the Nile Confrence action gets underway.

The conference pits Thunder against hosts APR from Rwanda, BAL debutants Al Ahli Tripoli from Libya, and Made by Basketball (MBB) from South Africa, who secured a wildcard entry.

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Group stage matches will consist of a 12-game round-robin format, where each team will play the others twice, with only the top two teams advancing to the playoffs.

The team arrived in Kigali on Thursday, 15 May, holding their first training session at the venue on Friday morning.

“Players were really excited to be on the BK Arena floor. It is an amazing wood floor with great hoops and rims, and that gave us a lot of energy. We got a lot of shots up and had some competitive segments that were good preparations for the matches coming up,” head coach Bradley Ibs offered.

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The Conference will see three debutants look to clinch the remaining three playoff slots, with the hosts, APR, who came up short in the 2024 Sahara Conference in Dakar and failed to advance to the playoffs last year, keen not to repeat their mistake.

Coach Ibs has named a 12-man squad to represent Thunder in Kigali, spearheaded by small forward Tylor Ongwae, who will captain the team.

The side has strengthened its squad with the signing of Senegalese forward Cheikh Mbacke, Central African shooting guard Evans Ganapamo, Ekiru Ereng, and the return of power forward William Davis II, who was part of the team in the Road to BAL Group Phase matches in Kibaha, Tanzania. 

1. Tylor Ongwae – Small Forward

2. Albert Odero – Shooting Guard

3. Cheikh Mbacke – Center

4. Grang Diing – Combo Guard

5. William Davis II – Power Forward

6. David Etyang – Point Guard

7. Uchenna Iroegbu – Point Guard

8. Ariel Koranga – Power Forward

9. Ekiru Ereng – Power Forward

10. Derrick Ogechi – Shooting Guard

11. Eugene Adera – Point Guard

12. Evans Ganapamo – Shooting Guard

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 Technical Bench

Bradley Ibs – Head Coach

Mathew Binder – Assistant Coach

Rose Mshilla – Assistant Coach