Nairobi City Thunder: Team that thundered hoops in Kenya

Nairobi City Thunder: Team that thundered hoops in Kenya

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Kenyan basketball is getting into 2025 on a excessive, driving the wave of an exciting 2023-2024 Kenya National Basketball League (KNBL) season that noticed fan engagement hit report ranges. Nairobi City Thunder turned the heart beat of this resurgence, their dominant run—powered by skilled expertise and revamped administration—drawing followers in droves and boosting attendance by over 200 p.c.

During the 2023-24 KNBL season, Kenya’s nationwide males’s and ladies’s basketball groups, alongside native golf equipment, participated in additional than 12 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) world basketball competitions. The groups achieved notable successes in some outings whereas additionally registering underwhelming performances in others.

The statistics reflecting the unprecedented progress of Kenyan basketball followers (most league video games have been held at Nyayo National Stadium Gymnasium) have been offered by Thunder’s assistant workforce supervisor Bernet Ojay and Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) secretary normal Angela Luchivya.

A aggressive season

In an interview with People Sport, Ojay mirrored on the workforce’s efficiency in the course of the just-concluded KNBL season.

“The season under review was extremely competitive. Although Thunder won the KNBL Premier League unbeaten for the first time, our opponents, Equity Dumas, pushed us to the edge in every game we played against them,” Ojay mentioned.

He additional added, “Equity Dumas gave us stiff competition during the KNBL Premier semi-finals. We won against them by a slim margin—either by a basket or a basket and a half, which is 2 or 3 points. The games could have gone either way.”

Despite the robust problem, Thunder’s teamwork helped them overcome the decided Equity Dumas in the course of the semi-finals. This victory earned them a spot within the KNBL Premier League last in opposition to defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in a best-of-five collection.

Thunder defeated KPA 73-70 within the first sport of the play-offs, adopted by a 59-50 win at KPA’s residence floor, Makande Indoor Basketball Court. They secured the championship with a commanding 86-46 victory at Nyayo National Stadium Gymnasium.

This historic triumph marked Thunder’s first KNBL Premier League title, dethroning KPA, a workforce that, together with Ulinzi Warriors, had lengthy dominated the nation’s apex basketball competitors.

KPA clinched the KNBL title within the 2022-2023 season, whereas Ulinzi Warriors had received it in the course of the 2021-2022 season. These two groups have traditionally loved vital success within the league.

“Kenyan fans had expected Thunder to face Equity Dumas in the KNBL Premier League play-offs final, but circumstances led to us playing KPA instead,” Ojay famous.

He additional credited the workforce’s success to their sponsor and proprietor, Twende Sports, who acquired the workforce forward of the 2023-2024 season. Twende Sports applied skilled administration buildings, remodeling Thunder right into a formidable outfit and elevating basketball requirements within the nation.

Thunder gamers Garang Diing and Griffin Ligare highlighted the numerous influence Twende Sports had on the workforce’s efficiency.

“Coach Brad Ibs instilled a selfless playing mantra in the team, which enhanced cohesion and contributed greatly to our success. This approach helped us win the KNBL Premier League and excel in the Road to Basketball Africa League (BAL) qualifiers, ultimately earning a spot in the BAL,” Ligare defined.

International gamers

Ligare additionally revealed that Twende Sports recruited foreign-based gamers reminiscent of Taylor Ongwae, Derrick Ogechi, Uchenna Iroegbu, Abdoulaye Amadou and William Sidney Davis II, whose worldwide expertise performed a vital function within the workforce’s excellent efficiency.

Ojay added that the skilled administration fashion, improved contracts, higher salaries, and enhanced participant welfare attracted prime expertise and motivated the workforce to excel. Thunder’s efficiency throughout league video games constantly drew giant crowds, significantly at Nyayo National Stadium Gymnasium.

“The basketball court was always packed, with attendance exceeding 200 percent of its 600-seat capacity. Fans filled every available space, even standing areas,” Ojay recalled.

The fan base adopted Thunder to different venues, together with the Kasarani International Sports Centre, the place the workforce performed in the course of the Road to BAL Elite 16 Stage East Division qualifiers. They confronted groups reminiscent of Burundi’s Urunani BBC, South Africa’s MBB Soldiers, Uganda’s City Oilers and Malawi’s Bravehearts, amongst others.

KBF secretary normal Luchivya acknowledged Thunder’s function in boosting fan numbers. “Nyayo National Stadium Gymnasium became too small. During the KNBL play-offs finals, we had to turn away over 200 fans due to lack of space,” she mentioned.

However, Ojay criticised KBF for not contributing to the elevated fan base, accusing the federation of failing to market the league successfully. “KBF only focuses on fixtures and does nothing to promote the game. They don’t even have a website to update fans about upcoming games,” he lamented.

Ojay additionally expressed frustration over KBF’s erratic launch of weekly fixtures, which disrupted workforce planning and allowed some groups to hunt postponements. He known as for a extra structured fixture schedule for the upcoming 2025-2026 season to keep away from pointless delays and monetary pressure on groups.

Echoing Ojay’s sentiments, Diing criticised the league’s size, which stretched to virtually 11 months. “This was physically draining for players. Ideally, the league should last about six to seven months,” he mentioned.

Sponsorship hurdles

Another difficulty raised by Ojay was the shortage of a title sponsor for the KNBL. He urged KBF to safe sponsorship to make the league extra aggressive and rewarding for gamers. He identified that different organisations, reminiscent of Gria, Red Bull, and Betika, have revolutionised road basketball by providing substantial money prizes.

KBF secretary normal Luchivya defended the federation, stating that securing sponsorship is an ongoing effort. “Finding sponsors takes time. We’re competing with other sports for limited sponsorship opportunities, but we’re not giving up,” she mentioned.

Luchivya highlighted different achievements by KBF, together with managing the league and overseeing Kenya’s participation in varied FIBA competitions. She additionally famous the promotion of Stanbic to the Premier League, as KBF’s structure prohibits a single sponsor from fielding two groups within the prime tier.