NAIROBI, Kenya, November 20 – Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) head coach Brad Ibs says he is not too preoccupied with going unbeaten for a second successive season in the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) Premier League.
Ibs says his key focus is to defend their league title and transform his charges into better players.
“Obviously that would be a great thing but I don’t think that would be our top priority. I think we’ll prioritise some player developments along the way. At the end of the day, we have to be sharp especially at the playoffs. It would be good to do it but I think there will be other priorities mixed in. Of course, winning the league is one of our top priorities,” he said.
Formerly known as International Christian Centre (ICC), NCT broke the stranglehold on Kenyan basketball by institutional teams when they ‘thundered’ their way to their maiden title last season.
An 84-48 win over Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in July this year was their crowning moment as they sealed a 3-0 win over eight-time national champions in a best-of-five series final at the Nyayo Stadium.
It was an icing on the cake of what had been a slaloming run by the team, which swatted aside their opponents with ease.
Their historic feat notwithstanding, Ibs believes next season will be tougher as other teams up their game and push them close.
“I think it is the institutional teams that are always quite good…the KPAs…Ulinzi usually does well. Umoja also really have tough players. You cannot also sleep on the Strathmores, USIU…those coaches really do a good job and they have very young, energetic talent. You have to come ready to play when you come up against these teams…and that’s not to take away anything from the other teams as well,” he said.
Eyes on BAL
Thunder will be flying the Kenyan flag at the Elite 16 round of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), set for Nairobi on November 28-December 3 at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani.
Their Road to BAL has been nothing short of a fairytale so far, winning three and losing once at the East Division qualifying round in Kibaha, Tanzania.
They began their campaign with a 89-58 win over Seychelles’ Beau Vallon Heat before dispatching of Madagascar’s GNBC, winning 96-60.
A slim 89-88 loss to Burundi’s Urunani was quickly forgotten as they recovered to beat hosts Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa (JKT) 86-63 in their final encounter.
Ibs is excited that they will get the chance to battle with the greats of the continent on home soil.
The American hopes Kenyans will rally around one of their own and roar them on to victory.
“There were numerous games last year when most of the fans were cheering against us and wanted to see us lose. However, it really created an electric atmosphere and I am hoping that now we are representing Kenya in this next round, we can everyone behind us. We hope they’ll be cheering with that same energy and tenacity and that would be really great,” he said.
Thunder have signed two experienced players – Ater ‘AJ’ Majok and Harouna Abdoulaye – to strengthen the spine of the team.
Ibs believes the duo’s prior experience of playing in the prestigious competition stands them in good stead.
“From the KBF finals to playing in the BAL, I believe it is a step up. We will be playing against some really good teams and we need to really bring our best game. We have already seen the way they communicate with the other guys and telling them what to expect at that level of competition. The fact that they have already won at that level earns them the respect of the other guys,” he said.
The team are currently training at the Nyayo Stadium in readiness for the continental competition where they a stand a great chance of becoming the first Kenyan team to feature in the final round of BAL, set for next year in Kigali, Rwanda.
