NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 24 – Once again, it was a story of too close but yet too far as Nairobi City Thunder narrowly edged out the Equity Dumas 69-66 on Sunday night to move one game closer to the finals of the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) Men’s Premier League play-off final.
Thunder lead 2-0 in the best of five series, and will sweep the bankers and book a place in the final on Friday if they win what is expected to be a highly charged game three on Friday night at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.
Albert Odero superbly stepped up for Thunder, sinking in 21 points having been much subdued in game one earlier on Friday. Fidel Okoth also came up big for Thunder, chalking double digit scores with 16 points in the victory.
Thunder Head coach Brad Ibs was delighted with the victory, saying they had been run close once again by the bankers, but his side found a way to win.
“It makes a big difference being 1-1 or 2-0 in a series of five games. We really wanted this one and we are just really grateful for the win. It’s always a difficult game against these guys (Equity) and winning is never easy,” the tactician, clearly overjoyed after the victory said after the game.
Equity put in a shift but come short
Equity put in a shift, but once again it wasn’t enough to down the heavily talented Thunder side. Eugene Adera was Equity’s best man on the floor with 18 points, while skipper Victor Bosire and Marol Achei each had 13, the latter managing a double-double with 11 rebounds as well.
For Joel Ntambwe, one of Equity’s drivers from the back, it was a disappointing evening as he only managed eight points, with Thunder employing some good tact, Fidel being assigned to track him all game and reduicing him to an eight-point perfomance.
It was a closely contested game, just like all match ups between the two sides have been this season, straight from the start.
Equity led 19-13 at the end of the first quarter, but Thunder slowly started clawing back in the second. Three back to back turnovers by Equity proved detrimental as Thunder picked up the lead for the first time in the game, going 24-22 up with 5:22 on the clock.
At halftime, they led by seven points, Garang Ding’s rebound and fading shot taking the score tally to 34-27.
Equity however regained the lead early in Q3 after going on an 8-0 scoring run, Bosire and Adera sinking dimes from downtown and Achei’s strength on the rebound taking the scores to 35-34.
Odero in the mood
However, Odero, who was in the mood all evening struck from beyond the three-point line, as Thunder regained control. They ended the quarter leading by a basket, scores at 57-55 after Dismass Mbaka scored from downtown.
The fourth quarter was a fiery affair as both sides traded jabs. With 4:34 to play, the two sides were tied at 61-61 as the full-to-capacity Nyayo Gymnasium roared.
With 2:02 to play Bosire brought the house down with a brilliant block on the board to deny Ariel Okall and then zoomed down the other end of the court to strike a brilliant three-pointer to take Equity into the lead at 64-62.
However, Thunder’s super fast transition caught Equity out with Odero hitting four on the trot, two from the point and another two from the three-point line.
The two sides traded jabs again, Bosire scoring on the turnoverto take the scores to 66-67, within a point of Thunder. However, the bankers twice failed to take advantage and caused turnovers with Ken Wachira striking on the other end to take the scores to 69-66.
Equity called a time out with 24 seconds to play to win possession in Thunder’s half, but they couldn’t get the much needed shot from the three point line to take the game to overtime.
