NAIROBI (Kenya) – Abdoulaye Harouna’s calm and collected demeanor, even under pressure, helped the Thunder. The Nigeria international pushed Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) to a victory 102-59 on the MBB Blue Soldiers of South Africa.
The Niger international’s 18 points came in crucial moments as the Kenyans were playing catch-up in the first two quarters, having trailed 19-17 in the first quarter, which saw the Cyril Shabalala-coached side take an 8-0 lead before the hosts came back to 8-5 within the first five minutes.
The start of the second quarter was very competitive, but the NCT managed to take the advantage and push the score up to 29-22 after 15 minutes of play. Bradley Ibs players continued their momentum, increasing their advantage to 11 at the end of the period thanks to a 19-15 run in the last five minutes of the match.
The match took place at a frantic pace, the MBB carrying out a series after returning from the locker room to come back to three points (55-52), forcing the NCT to draw on its reserves to maintain its advantage. It was the opportunity for the defense to get to work and annihilate the MBB with a 15-2 which allowed them to take the advantage 70-54. A 32-05 in favor of the NCT for the last act sealed the fate of the MBB.
Harouna, along with Garang Doing who finished with 16 points, led the way for the NCT, while Kennedy Wachira and Albert Odero came in to boost the statistics with 15 points each. Neo Mothiba was coach Shabalala’s top scorer with 14 points, four more than Marcus Mokwena.
“We started slowly but stabilized after the first quarter and finished strong. Winning and seeing the fans happy is what we play for and it was a great evening,” said Harouna after the match.
The guard, who has participated in the previous four editions of the BAL and comes with a wealth of experience to the NCT in search of a story for Kenya, explained his team’s nervous start: “MBB made a few shots tough in the first quarter, but we knew they couldn’t hold on for long. We took charge in the second quarter until the end to get the victory.”
Harouna says NCT will take one match at a time and focus on Monday night (where the semi-finals will take place).
On Friday, MBB will face Bravehearts in search of their first Elite 16 victory, while the hosts will play Kriol Star of Cape Verde, with both teams continuing a 2-0 series.
FIBA
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