Year 2024 in review: Nairobi City Thunder reap the rewards of sound investment

 The year 2024 will go down in the annals of history as one of the best for Kenyan basketball league side Nairobi City Thunder.

The team, making waves in Kenyan basketball scene not only won the basketball league title unbeaten attaining ‘invincibility’ in the process but also went a step further by qualifying for the 2025 FIBA Basketball Africa League (BAL) – the first Kenyan club to attain the feat.

In front of electric crowd at the 5,000-seater Kasarani Indoor Arena, home side City Thunder survived a late rally by Uganda’s City Oilers to win 72-62 in the semi-final, in the backdrop of impressive run in the group stages to book the East Division Elite 16 ticket to BAL 2025.  Finalists automatically booked the ticket but even with that in the bag, they went a step further seeing off Cape Verde’s Kriol Star 99-86 to bag the East Division Elite 16 title.

 But what made Thunder tick; what made them sweep all to bag the title?

Observers opine that proper investment in the playing unit as well as the technical bench did the trick. In the last two years the team has gone full blast signing players of pedigree to shore up their technical ability in the court. These signings include the towering Tylor Okari Ongwae, who boast of huge experience having plied his trade in Kenya and beyond, Eugene Adera, Derrick Mekenye Ogechi, David Baraka Etyang, Uchenna Onyekachi Iroegbu, Abdoulaye Harouna Amadou and Ater Majok, from South Sudan.

Their hard work and desire to attain new heights was augmented by a dedicated technical bench led by head coach Bradley Ibs who was over the moon after bagging the BAL ticket, hailing his players for their resilience and character.

“It was a really amazing experience to have the event hosted in Kenya, for us to be the first Kenyan club to qualify for the BAL especially in front of our fans who showed up game after game. It was a beautiful experience for our club and the Kenyan basketball fraternity,” Ibs said.

New signing Derrick Ogechi was equally full of praise for his team mates.

“We tried to come out, execute, do our game well, and move forward. I think we did a good job, did what we needed to do as we already knew that we needed to make steps.

We prepared well before the qualifiers, and executed it to win this championship. It’s time to rest; watch films and prepare for the BAL championship next year,” Ogechi said.

National 3x3 women’s senior national team head coach Evelyn Kedogo attributed Thunder’s success to right recruitment.

“They did their homework well, scouted what they needed,” he explained. “The players they needed and the positions they needed and we can all see the change they brought.”

In the local league scene, Thunder bagged the diadem for the first time after a 3-0 sweep against Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

The Shauri Moyo based side hammered the Dockers 86-48 in Game Three of the five game series after winning Game One and Game Two 73-70 and 59-50 respectively in Mombasa which made them represent the country in the Basketball Africa League Qualifiers.

The hotly contested match was played before a capacity crowd as Thunder won the league unbeaten bringing to an end their long wait for the title.

Coach Ibs who joined the team at the beginning of the season, taking over from Sadat Gaya who deputized him attributed the success to the kind of talent and team work they had throughout the season.

Team captain and point guard Griffins Ligare who won the playoffs’ Most Valuable Player (MVP) award attributed the success to Twende Sports – the club’s parent firm - which came in at the start of the season and changed everything.

“It is Twende Sports coming in and setting up a professional ecosystem around Nairobi City Thunder Basketball Team and to me that’s the game changer because it sets the correct structures for the team to operate,” Ligare said.

Storms women’s basketball team head coach Abel Nson who once served as the assistant coach of the national team, Morans, under Liz Mills, attributed Thunder’s success to professionalism brought by Twende Sports.

“What made them unbeaten was the structures - above and beyond - because money was great and they made their players professionals, they had contracts and what they needed to do was just play basketball which was already a plus because as a player you need that so that you can focus.”

Training morning and evenings every day, they were a disciplined team - from management all the way down to the coaches - everybody was on time, they made sure the players didn't lack anything and everybody did their roles perfectly,” Nson explained.

Apart from Captain Griffins winning the playoffs MVP award, another Thunder player Albert Odera won the regular season MVP award, while head coach Brad Ibs won the coach of the year award as Operations Manager Kooshin Diriye won the team manager award.