Nairobi — Nairobi City Thunder head coach Brad Ibs says his side is ready to attack as the Elite 16 round of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2025 qualification tips off at the Nyayo National Stadium on Thursday.
Thunder start their campaign to become the first ever Kenyan side to qualify for the final edition of the BAL against South Africa's MBB on Thursday at 8pm, and Ibs says the team has prepared and is ready to go all out for a win.
"We have prepared really well and the players are focused on the task ahead. Previously with the uncertainty around the dates and the venue it was a bit difficult to prepare but now we have a clear path and everyone is eager to give their best," the coach said.
Thunder won the Kenya Basketball League unbeaten last year to qualify for their first ever Road to BAL, and progressed to the second round of qualification after finishing second in the East Division first round.
To make the final BAL tournament next year, Thunder will need to reach the final of the eight-team tournament.
The teams have been divided into two pools. Thunder headline Pool A where they face off with South Africa's MBB, Cape Verde's Kriol Star and Malawi's Brave Hearts.
Group B has Uganda's City Oilers, Burundi's Urunani, who beat Thunder in the East Division first round as well as Fox Basketball of South Sudan and Metaro Magic of Zambia.
Playing the tournament on home soil, Ibs said, in an interview with Telecomasia.net, would be a massive advantage for them.
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"I think this will be a dream come true for us and the boys as well as the country and organization, qualifying infront of our home fans. We set this out from last season when we started that our aim is to become the first ever Kenyan team to qualify for BAL and we will work hard to ensure that we do it," said the tactician, speaking to Telecomasia.net.
Thunder have a massively experienced squad, with Nigerien Harouna Abdoulaye and South Sudan born Lebanese Ater Majok being drafted for the Elite 16. Majok won the title with US Monastir in 2022 while Harouna was named in the BALL all-defensive team of the season in the 2024 edition.
They had already brought on board American-Nigerian Uchenna Iroegbu for the East Division. Other players to have joined Thunder at the start of this season include Tyler Ongwae, who has also played in the tournament as well as shooting guard Derrick Ogechi, and Eugene Adera from Equity Dumas.
