NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 3 – Nairobi City Thunder failed to crackle on home court as Kenya Ports Authority picked a vital victory on the road in the Kenya Basketball Federation Men’s Premier League, winning 69-51 at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium on Saturday.
Eugene Philips scored a game high 20 points for KPA as they rose from a first quarter deficit to win the game and keep their hunt for a top spot finish in the regular season alive.
“There were a few errors but overall, it was a good game from us,” KPA’s Sammy Kiki commented after the game.
KPA had started the match well and had a 4-0 scoring run, keeping their momentum. However, Thunder roared to tie the game at 12-12 with 43 seconds on the clock.
Skipper Griffin Ligare rose brilliantly on the offensive rebound to sink in two for the home side with seconds left to play, as they went to the first breather with a single basket lead, scores standing at 14-12.
In the second quarter, it was a see-saw affair, but Thunder’s lack of firepower in rebounding on both ends of the court cost them.
With 3:15 to play, John Wijass was accorded lots of space beyond the arc and he rose for a three-pointer, seeing KPA open up a five point lead. Thunder had chances to draw back level but they were erratic both in shooting and picking rebounds.
KPA were comfortable and went to the halftime break with an eight-point lead, scores standing at 27-19. Thunder managed to only score five points the entire 10 minutes.
They continued dominance in the third quarter and with 3:27 left on the clock, coach Sadat Gaya called for a time out for Thunder as they tried to bridge a gap that had grown to 15 points.
But, it couldn’t reduce the damage as the third quarter ended with KPA enjoying a 19-point gap, the scores at 50-31.
Thunder worked hard to reduce the gap in the fourth quarter with skipper Ligare taking matters into his own hands to push his side. They reduced the gap to 10 points with the captain’s three-pointer, but the work was cut out for them with the gap healthy.
Philips was in starring form for the dockers while Trevor Gari was given the task of man-marking Ligare to ensure he does not engineer a comeback.
The victory was a massive boost for KPA who will play Equity Dumas in what is expected to be a crunch tie on Sunday evening.
In the earlier fixture, University side Strathmore Blades saw off Kisumu Lakeside 76-42.
Garang Deng had a game high 19 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc in the healthy victory for the home side. They led in all but the third quarter. They had a 21-5 lead at the first quarter and 41-21 at half time.
Lakeside scored 22 against 11 points for Strathmore in the third quarter, but the protracted comeback was short.
