Nairobi Thunder players during a training session at the Nyayo National Stadium on November 20, 2024 ahead of the Basketball Africa League Eastern Division qualifiers to be held in Nairobi later this month.
The success of Kenyan basketball champions Nairobi City Thunder comes down to good funding, well-thought-out recruitment, player welfare and discipline.
The reigning national champions can now dare dream of conquering Africa
After their historic league victory last season where they thundered through the regular season and the play-offs unbeaten, Thunder can’t wait for the Basketball Africa League (BAL) final qualifier this month.
They are intent on writing history by becoming the first from Kenya to feature in the prestigious BAL that was launched in 2021.
The BAL Eastern Division final qualifier, originally scheduled to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa will now be staged in Nairobi from November 28 to December 3.
The top two teams from the tournament will join 10 other nations for the 2025 Basketball Africa League.
The eight teams battling for the two slots are Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya), City Oilers (Uganda), Urunani (Burundi), Fox Sports (South Sudan), NBA Academy, MBB (South Africa), Matero Magic (Zambia) and Brave Hearts (Malawi).
Thunder head coach Bradley Ibs says that qualifying from the Eastern Conference for BAL will mean a lot not only to his team but the country as a whole since players will be exposed to a higher level of the game that they have never experienced before.
“Last season was about establishing a culture and we now want to firm it up this season,” said Bradley.
Team owners Twende Sports ensured Thunders could afford to acquire talented players last season which stoked their success.
Push each other
“We achieved a lot last season since players, who were starters and stars in their previous teams, were willing to take lesser roles, come to practices every day and push each other,” said Bradley.
“We implemented a certain style of play, which was team-oriented since at the end of the day, it didn’t matter who was the leading scorer so long as we won. Every player covered for each other something we carry to the new season,” said Bradley.
Thunders have reinforced heavily.
Tylor Okari Ongwae, who was previously with Ninners of Germany and guided Kenya to a historic second-place finish at the 2019 Fiba AfroCan has joined Thunder’s stable alongside the 2022 BAL winner Ater James Majok from US Monastir of Tunisia.
Majom was born in Sudan and raised in Australia but features for Lebanon internationally.
Other new signings are Eugene Adera from Equity, Derrick Ogechi from Cordova (Spain), Uchenna Ireogbi (Al Hashid, Iraq) and Nigerian Harouna Abdoulaye from AS Dounes (Senegal).
Thunder deputy coach Sadat Gaya is bullish ahead of the new season and doesn’t mince his words about their intentions.
“We are good enough to make a lot of noise because we have the capacity in a rich playing unit and deep bench,” said Gaya “We are loaded pound-for-pound for a repeat of what we did last season but our main focus is the BAL.”
Gaya said that the takeover by Twende Sports marked the turning point as they brought in the financial muscle the team had missed for as long. A fat account has enabled them to maintain, as well as, sign high-calibre players.
Gaya said that Bradley has helped them put in place good systems that have enabled them to adopt a new style of play
“Over the years we used to lose many of our players to our rivals Equity Bank and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) on account of better deals offered. But that changed when Twende Sports took over and we even acquired top players at the beginning of last season,” said Gaya.
These talent included Ariel Okal, winner of eight championships in Kenya, James Mwangi, who had won three championships in a row with Coop Bank, KPA and Ulinzi and Ken Wachira, who won with KPA and was the league MVP in 2021.
“It became easy since guys talked from experience and came with a championship mentality, having been there and done it,” said Gaya. Skipper skipper Griffin Ligare led from the front and it was not a surprise he was named the 2024 MVP.
Echoing former USA President Barack Obama’s famous quote, Gaya, who has coached Thunder since 2011, said the Kenyan team can be the change they want.
“We are controlling what we can and that is why we have brought international players to our team. That way, we force teams to play a certain way. We are forcing other teams to step up,” said Gaya.
Thunder team manager Ojay said that when Twende Sports took over they were able to put in structures that paved the way for full professionalism in the team with players signing contracts.
Playing for fun
“That is the change we are seeing now, the change we yearned for in having players fully focused on delivery. A settled player will always deliver on the court knowing that there is something for him,” said Ojay. "It is now more than just playing for fun."
Ojay said that they also had rules of engagement that cultivated an environment of discipline in the team with players attending training sessions religiously without fail.
“That is the culture that we have brought to this season and things can only get better. We want to match the best on the continental. We want to display our talent at BAL and so we have to qualify for the tournament."
City Thunder were established in 1998, initially as a corporate team under the National Security Fund (NSSF). Former coach Faustin Mgendi, who has since retired, founded the team.
They joined the KBF Premier League the same year and went on to shock many, winning the men's top crown the following year.
In 2002, NSSF withdrew its sponsorship and the team re-branded to the International Christian Centre (ICC) after landing the church as a sponsor, a deal that ran for seven years until 2010. They competed as a self-sponsored side until 2023 when Twende Sports acquired the club.
Said Twende Sports General Manager Kooshin "Kush" Diriye: "They had a perfect season but we want them to do better. We want them to put Kenya on the basketball map because this is a wonderful country. We want Kenya at BAL. That is our dream," said Diriye, who played for Thunder back in 2015.
