City Thunder eye better show on BAL return

Nairobi City Thunder endured a challenging but historic debut season in the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL), finishing with a 1–5 record and exiting at the group stage in the Nile Conference.

As the first Kenyan team to compete in the BAL, they marked a major milestone for the country’s basketball scene and managed to secure a memorable first-ever win against South Africa’s Made by Ball Blue Soldiers (MBB).

However, they struggled against more experienced sides such as APR and Al Ahli Tripoli, highlighting the gap in experience and depth at the continental level.

Despite the setbacks, the campaign was widely viewed as a valuable learning experience, giving the team exposure to elite competition and laying a strong foundation for future improvement in subsequent BAL seasons.

Speaking during the team’s media day ahead of BAL Season 6 in Pretoria, South Africa, head coach Bradley Ibs and captain Tylor Ongwae underlined the team’s intention to leverage team synergy to achieve better results.

“Last year, being our first year, we learned a lot about what it means to play in the BAL.

“We’re excited to represent ourselves and truly show Thunder basketball.”

Despite their dominance in the local league, Thunder are placing emphasis on execution and preparation.

“In a tournament like this being prepared is a lot about the basics, being great at the simple things that win basketball games.

“Learning to win in different ways has benefited us and hope those lessons translate to the competition here.” Ibs said.

A key shift from last season is a stronger emphasis on chemistry and continuity, particularly after early challenges in their debut BAL campaign.

“Our team strength is our cohesiveness that is built on our foundation of local core players and we want to highlight their strengths and chemistry together,” he added.

“Watching more BAL games, you realize how much chemistry really matters, especially in the ability of players to play fast and aggressive.”

Captain Tylor Ongwae says that cohesion is reinforced through constant communication within the group.

“It’s about engaging with each other. If I see something going wrong, I speak up. If they see something, they talk to me. It’s open communication and just enjoying playing together.”

For Ongwae, the objective remains straightforward.

“At the end of the day, we want to win. Winning solves a lot of problems.”

Nairobi City Thunder open their BAL Season 6 campaign on Saturday 28th March in an East African derby against Dar City, with tip-off set for 4:00 PM EAT.