Nairobi City Thunder suffered their second defeat in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) going down 97-70 to Petro de Luanda in their third game in the Kalahari Conference in Pretoria, South Africa on Wednesday.
The Nairobi City Thunder had managed a short-lived lead in the opening quarter and went on to score 12 unanswered points in the third. However, stopping Petro de Luanda’s bench players proved challenging.
Starting small forward Milton Valente excepted, Childe Dundao, Peter Jok, Glofate Buiamba and Yanick Moreira all came off the bench to lift the former BAL champions to a 97-70 win over the Nairobi City Thunder.
Valente finished with a team-high 15 points, while the reserve quartet contributed a combined total of 53 points for Petro de Luanda.
Derrick Ogechi was the Thunder’s standout player, finishing with 20 points, but his efforts were in vain as they trailed by as many as 33 points at one stage in the game.
Albert Odero, who had missed the Thunder’s first two games due to a hamstring injury, came off the bench to shoot 3-for-3 from deep in the first two quarters. However, coach Bradley Ibs then benched him for the rest of the game.
The Thunder matched Petro’s fast-paced game in the first quarter, trailing by just four points (24–20), but the second quarter proved to be a turning point for Petro, who went on a scoring spree and outscored their opponents 35–11, mainly thanks to Jok’s prowess as a scorer.
The South Sudanese shooting guard shot 3-for-3 from behind the arc, finishing with 12 points.
Thomas said: “We need a short memory and focus on the next game. Petro are a tough, experienced team, but our playoff dream is still alive, we just have to be at our best.”
“We started well, but Petro’s experience showed as the game went on and it got away from us. I am sure we are going to bounce back in the next game.”
Thomas contributed 12 points for the Thunder.
Buiamba went on explaining Petro de Luanda’s key to their second win in three games. He said: “Our identity is defense. When we get it right, we’re tough to beat. We’re a united group, we win and lose together.”
“We can only win games by playing our defensive style. Once we get our defence right, we’re unbeatable – just look at what we did against the Nairobi team.”
He continued: “We are a united group, and the atmosphere in the locker room is superb. We win and lose together. We are a team that neither underestimates nor is underestimated by anyone.”
The Nairobi City Thunder are now 1-2 with two Kalahari Conference games left while Petro improved to 2-1.
