Dar City defeated Nairobi City Thunder 90-85 on Saturday in an East Africa derby during the ongoing Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season Six Kalahari Conference, played at a packed SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.
Kenya Basketball Federation national league champions Nairobi City Thunder lost narrowly despite a strong performance. Team captain Tylor Ogwae scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed five rebounds, while point guard Eugene Adera added 16 points and 13 rebounds to push Dar City to the wire, with the scores tied at 85-85 with less than two minutes to play.
Ogwae admitted that lapses in concentration cost them the game.
“We played well. We out-rebounded them and had 22 assists, but the coach always says we need to have fewer than 10 turnovers. Today we had 16, and I think that is where we lost the game. But we will rectify that and bounce back,” he said after the match.
Thunder won the rebound battle 45-39, but Dar City’s David Benoit Michineau, an import from France, scored two crucial late points that sealed the win for the Tanzanian side.
Dar City are now on the right trajectory after winning back-to-back games in their debut season as they push for playoff qualification.
For Thunder, they must now beat Johannesburg Giants, who are playing at home in South Africa. Having lost their opening two games, the Kenyan side must bounce back to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Nairobi City Thunder now find themselves in a difficult position after losing both matches, similar to Johannesburg Giants, who are also winless and sit at the bottom of the table.
Dar City from Tanzania top the standings with two wins out of two, followed by Angolan giants Petro de Luanda in second place with one win. Rwanda’s RSSB Tigers are third with one win, while Egypt’s Al Ahly sit fourth.
