Nairobi — Nairobi City Thunder head coach Brad Ibs says qualifying for the Basketball Africa League (BAL) is a special and unbelievable moment of his life.
Ibs says he never imagined he would lead the first Kenyan team to the prestigious competition when he settled in the country 17 years ago.
"Almost 17 years and I have been involved in different aspects of basketball in Kenya. Apart from the national team, this might be the highest level that Kenyan players have competed in. It is a great honour...it feels like a privilege. I couldn't imagine this. A few years if you had told me I'd be sitting here, taking the first Kenyan team to the BAL, I couldn't have imagined it," the American said.
The coach added that he feels a Kenyan just like any other those born in the country, noting that he has come to love it and its people.
"I love Kenya...my family is here; we have roots here. It feels really special to be able to be a part of this," Ibs said.
It has been quite the journey for Thunder who came into existence in 1998, then known as National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
NSSF won the 2000 Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) Premier League title before it rebranded to the International Christian Centre (ICC) in 2003.
Seven years later, Nairobi City Thunder were born as a self-funded organisation and they went on to qualify for the 2019 KBF Premier League final.
Their fortunes changed last year with the arrival of Twende Sports Limited - headed by founder Colin Rasmussen and Stephen Domingo - as sponsors.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Their metamorphosis into a professional outfit saw them brush aside their opponents with ease, rumbling their way to their second league title this year without losing a match.
Their latest stop in their journey to the top is clinching the BAL East Division qualifiers on Tuesday night after beating Kriol Star of Cape Verde 99-86.
Ahead of their debut at the high table of African basketball in May next year, Ibs has noted a number of tweaks to their game.
"You can never be good enough on defense...you can always be a little bit better, tougher and faster. Hopefully when we start preparing on conference play, we will have a good amount of time with players. We have learned a lot...this is the first time we are doing this. We have learned a lot from preparing for Tanzania, and now this Elite 16 and I think we now know how better we need to organise our time," he said.
Ibs added: "We also want to do the same things that we have been doing...like building team chemistry, getting guys to really play for one another. A lot of times these are the simple things that help to win basketball games."
