The Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) had a difficult start to their first Basketball Africa League (BAL) season after losing to Rwanda’s APR 92-63 in the Nile Conference opener at BK Arena.
APR established an early lead and maintained control throughout the game, capitalising on their experience and home-court advantage.
Despite efforts from NCT to close the gap, APR’s consistent performance secured them a comfortable victory.
APR’s Malian Aliou Diarra dominated the game and put up monster stats; he finished the game with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists.
Tyler Ongwae led the scoring for NCT with 14 points while shooting 2 of 8 from the three-point line, but it was not enough to overcome APR’s dominance.
This match marked a historic moment for Nairobi City Thunder, as they became the first Kenyan team to participate in the BAL. Their qualification followed a successful run in the East Division Elite 16 at the Kasarani Indoor Arena in Nairobi.
Looking ahead, Nairobi City Thunder will aim to regroup and prepare for their next game against Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli on May 18, 2025.
Al Ahli Tripoli, also making their BAL debut, will be seeking their first win after an 87-77 loss to South Africa’s Made by Basketball (MBB) in their opening match.
Nile Conference Standings (After Matchday 1)
- APR (Rwanda): 1 win, 0 losses
- Made by Basketball (South Africa): 1 win, 0 losses
- Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya): 0 wins, 1 loss
- Al Ahli Tripoli (Libya): 0 wins, 1 loss
The Nile Conference games continue through May 25, with teams vying for spots in the BAL playoffs.
