07 September 2015
KENYA : City Thunder roar to lead table
Nairobi City Thunder reaped big from the
weekend's Kenya Basketball Federation league action to take control of
the men premier league’s Eastern Conference after registering double
wins.
They are now 28 points, four clear of second-placed Co-operative Bank.
After beating Umoja 70-58 on Saturday, Thunder maintained the momentum on Sunday with a 78-47 win over Nairobi Aviation College at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.
With player-coach Ben Oluoch missing from their lineup, NAC had a mountain to scale against one of the form teams in the league. Abel Nson and Maurice Obillo were the key players for the aviators but could not withstand the pressure.
NAC enjoyed a brief 3-0 lead for the opening two minutes of the game courtesy of a three-pointer from Obillo. Thunder then made two baskets to take the lead at 4-2 and went on to press hard and dictated play to the end.
They won the first two quarters 20-10 and 32-12 for a 52-22 halftime lead. Aviation won the third 17-15 and Thunder the fourth 11-8. Griffin Ligare tormented Aviation with 29 points, grabbed three rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Charles Kituyi added 20 points and grabbed four rebounds and four steals. Obillo finished the game with 23 points for Aviation who scored 18 points from the three-point line and six from free shots. Thunder made fifteen free shots and five three-pointers.
Blades also made it two wins out of two for the weekend beating Kenya Airports Authority 70-61. In the absence of Ulinzi Warriors, Blades ascended to the top of the Western Conference with 22 points.
Billy Ongute made the first basket for KAA as they strolled to a 8-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Blades fought back and at 4:16, Emmanuel Soja made two free shots as they led 9-8.
At 2:14, Alphas Muema overturned the lead for KAA at 10-9 with a basket as they went on to win the quarter 14-11.
Opened up a big lead
With only 2:70 played in second quarter, KAA had opened up a big lead of 20-11 as the quarter ended 14-all. Third quarter was the main turning point for Blades.
With less than two minutes played, they were leading 30-29 but KAA charged ahead 31-30. Peter Shilton fired a 3-pointer to give Blades a 33-31 lead and stretched that to eleven points. Blades won the quarter 31-19 as they led 56-47.
KAA matched up the pressure in fourth quarter and with 48 seconds remaining, they trailed by two points at 61-63. Their shaky defense saw Shilton sink a three-pointer and two free shots plus a basket from Soja to seal the win.
Shilton finished with 24 points including three three-pointers while Brayan Shivachi top scored for KAA with 17 points and Alphas Muema added 12. Blades made 23 free shots and five 3-pointers while KAA scored 16 points from free shots and one three-pointer.
In division one, Blazers push to make a return to the top league suffered a big dent after losing their third consecutive game. They lost 60-78 to Baraka Xtreme after trailing 35-42 at halftime.
Baraka won first quarter 20-13 with the second ending in a 22-all tie. In second quarter, Baraka scored 18/22 from the 3-point line. Baraka won the remaining quarters 14-11 and 21-14 respectively.
Amos Wachira shot 12 points from the arc to top score for Baraka with 27. For Blazers, Jay Michoma made eight free shots, one three-pointer and three baskets to top score with 17 points while Joe Koech added 11.
In other games, Trailblazers beat World Hope 69-55 and Barclays Bank won 68-57 against 4-Christ.
Sunday Results: Barclays Bank 68 4-Christ 57, KAA 61 Blades 70, Blazers 60 Baraka Xtreme 78, Trailblazers 69 World Hope 55, Thunder 78 Nairobi Aviation College 47.
They are now 28 points, four clear of second-placed Co-operative Bank.
After beating Umoja 70-58 on Saturday, Thunder maintained the momentum on Sunday with a 78-47 win over Nairobi Aviation College at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.
With player-coach Ben Oluoch missing from their lineup, NAC had a mountain to scale against one of the form teams in the league. Abel Nson and Maurice Obillo were the key players for the aviators but could not withstand the pressure.
NAC enjoyed a brief 3-0 lead for the opening two minutes of the game courtesy of a three-pointer from Obillo. Thunder then made two baskets to take the lead at 4-2 and went on to press hard and dictated play to the end.
They won the first two quarters 20-10 and 32-12 for a 52-22 halftime lead. Aviation won the third 17-15 and Thunder the fourth 11-8. Griffin Ligare tormented Aviation with 29 points, grabbed three rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Charles Kituyi added 20 points and grabbed four rebounds and four steals. Obillo finished the game with 23 points for Aviation who scored 18 points from the three-point line and six from free shots. Thunder made fifteen free shots and five three-pointers.
Blades also made it two wins out of two for the weekend beating Kenya Airports Authority 70-61. In the absence of Ulinzi Warriors, Blades ascended to the top of the Western Conference with 22 points.
Billy Ongute made the first basket for KAA as they strolled to a 8-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Blades fought back and at 4:16, Emmanuel Soja made two free shots as they led 9-8.
At 2:14, Alphas Muema overturned the lead for KAA at 10-9 with a basket as they went on to win the quarter 14-11.
Opened up a big lead
With only 2:70 played in second quarter, KAA had opened up a big lead of 20-11 as the quarter ended 14-all. Third quarter was the main turning point for Blades.
With less than two minutes played, they were leading 30-29 but KAA charged ahead 31-30. Peter Shilton fired a 3-pointer to give Blades a 33-31 lead and stretched that to eleven points. Blades won the quarter 31-19 as they led 56-47.
KAA matched up the pressure in fourth quarter and with 48 seconds remaining, they trailed by two points at 61-63. Their shaky defense saw Shilton sink a three-pointer and two free shots plus a basket from Soja to seal the win.
Shilton finished with 24 points including three three-pointers while Brayan Shivachi top scored for KAA with 17 points and Alphas Muema added 12. Blades made 23 free shots and five 3-pointers while KAA scored 16 points from free shots and one three-pointer.
In division one, Blazers push to make a return to the top league suffered a big dent after losing their third consecutive game. They lost 60-78 to Baraka Xtreme after trailing 35-42 at halftime.
Baraka won first quarter 20-13 with the second ending in a 22-all tie. In second quarter, Baraka scored 18/22 from the 3-point line. Baraka won the remaining quarters 14-11 and 21-14 respectively.
Amos Wachira shot 12 points from the arc to top score for Baraka with 27. For Blazers, Jay Michoma made eight free shots, one three-pointer and three baskets to top score with 17 points while Joe Koech added 11.
In other games, Trailblazers beat World Hope 69-55 and Barclays Bank won 68-57 against 4-Christ.
Sunday Results: Barclays Bank 68 4-Christ 57, KAA 61 Blades 70, Blazers 60 Baraka Xtreme 78, Trailblazers 69 World Hope 55, Thunder 78 Nairobi Aviation College 47.
Nairobi City Thunder won their two matches at the weekend to top the Eastern Conference table. (Photo by Shutterspeed)
# posted by afrbk : 18:37
