NAIROBI (Kenya) - Nairobi City Thunder advanced to the Semi-Finals of the East Division Elite 16 with a 91-68 win over Bravehearts at the Kasarani Indoor Arena in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Sunday.
City Thunder, who were unbeaten in their first two Elite Sixteen matches, faced little resistance from a Bravehearts side who lost their third game in a row to see their Road to BAL season come to an end.
Faad Billy scored the first four points for Bravehearts to take their only and short-lived lead at 4-3 before the Kenyan champions went on a scoring spree to lead by as many as 12 in the first half.
Thunder took a 41-33 lead into the break.
TURNING POINT: Although the Malawians were threatening to cause the biggest upset in the East Division Elite 16 so far, their intentions never materialised as the hosts, backed by a large contingent of local fans, never panicked.
And that was reflected in the way they attacked and scored with ease from almost every corner of the pitch.
HERO: Garang Akoi Diing set the tone making 3 of his 3 trebles to finish with 9 points, but it was Thunder's substitutes Derrick Ogechi and Eugene Adera, who did the most damage, combining 32 points off the bench.
STATS DON'T LIE: It's always difficult to come back from a double-digit deficit, but the fact that City Thunder increased their three-point shooting from 6 in the first half to seven - 13 in total - in the second half made it extremely difficult for Bravehearst to stay in the game.
But the biggest difference between the teams was their benches' contributions, with Nairobi City Thunders' outscoring Bravehearts' 49-23.
BOTTOM LINE: There was never any question as to who would emerge victorious in this clash between two teams with different records this season.
With more talent, the support of their home fans and the motivation of becoming the first Kenyan team to reach the Elite 16 semi-finals of the East Division and possibly the Basketball Africa League (BAL) at their first attempt, Thunder were the more legitimate contenders.
But despite their shortcomings, Braveheart put up a fight and deserves credit for limiting City Thunder to under 100 points for the first time in the Elite 16.
THEY SAID: "If I look at the games that we played at this tournament, today's game was little better in terms of performance from my players, and also execution of instructions that we gave them. It was a better performance against the host." Bravehearts head coach Griffin. Kalua.
"At the end of the day the other team were playing better than us, that's how they got the win. " Bravehearts guard, Fade Billy.
"We didn't player our best. We came out a little bit sluggish, which obviously we can't do tomorrow. We are going to address that as we look for a little more focus to start the game tomorrow. " Nairobi City Thunder head coach Bradley Thomas Ibs.
FIBA