The Nairobi City Thunder bounced back from their disappointing start to the 2026 Kalahari Conference campaign by beating the RSSB Tigers 101–92 in Pretoria on Sunday.
The Thunder appeared rejuvenated, adopting a completely different style of play.
The Thunder fought for every possession, scored more than ever before this season, and remained composed throughout, even when RSSB rallied from 25 points down to trail by just nine with six minutes remaining.
Derrick Ogechi, Garang Diing and Tylor Ongwae inspired the Thunder’s offence with a combined 10 three-pointers.
Ogechi shot 7-for-16, including 5-for-10, to lead the Thunder with his BAL career-high 22 points; Ongwae added 17; and Diing produced 14 off the bench.
Jawachi Nzeakor also made a stellar contribution, finishing with 21 points and eight rebounds for the Kenyan champions.
The Nairobi City team showed their desperation for a second win of the campaign early on, outscoring RSSB 38-24 by the end of the opening quarter. By halftime, the Thunder had achieved the highest first-half score in the 2026 Kalahari Conference, leading 62-49.
At times, the game resembled a three-point contest, with both teams repeatedly scoring from beyond the arc, eventually finishing with a combined 24-for-65.
Playing without Craig Randall II, who had set a BAL scoring record the previous day, Ntore Habimana and Teafale Lenard Jr proved challenging opponents for the RSSB Tigers, who finished top of the 2026 Kalahari Conference with a record of 4–1.
Antino Jackson Jr led the RSSB Tigers with 24 points, while Makong Mathiang produced 22 points and 22 rebounds.
Not only did the Thunder score 100 points for the first time in their BAL history, they also won two games for the first time in one season.
Tylor Ongwae #12 of Nairobi City Thunder looks to pass the ball during the game against RSSB Tigers on April 5, 2026 at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.
Koranga said: “We needed this win, not only for ourselves, but also for the Kenyan fans back home and for the team as we move forward into probably BAL 7. We needed to win today to give us moral support and boost our confidence, so that we can leave this conference with our heads held high.”
Koranga went on saying: “It was important to achieve a second win in the campaign. We are still growing; two wins is a huge achievement for us. I hope that next season, when we come back, we will have won three or four games.”
Asked about RSSB’s resurgence in the game, Koranga replied: “We just had to stick together. There were a few mistakes here and there, but as long as we played for each other and for the name on the front of the jersey, we were going to be fine.”
“We wanted to be aggressive on both offence and defence and put all the other losses behind us. We came into this game with no pressure at all, and it worked,” he said.
