KIBAHA (Tanzania) - The clash pitting Burundi champions Urunani and Kenya's Nairobi City Thunder, seemingly the strongest sides in Group D of the East Division Road to BAL, lived up to its billing, with the latter going down by a single point in a 89-88 outcome.
In a match they led for 36.25 minutes, Thunder fell to a Marcus Christopher Crawford-powered Urunani.
Tylor Ongwae led Thunder's charge with 23 points, falling two rebounds short after a double-double.
He was good for 5-of-9 from beyond the arc; William Sydney Davis II (Will) added 17 to the tally, bagging eight rebounds as well while Garang Diing bagged a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, adding 5 assists in the loss.
Turning point: Thunder's guard Uchenna Iroegbu, who had been perfect for the side, fouled out just two minutes into the final quarter and that seemed to slow down the Kenyan champions.
He had dished out seven assists, scoring 12 before his exit. Will, who had dictate pace for Thunder in three quarters, also picked an injury and the two absences were evident for the Bradley Ibs-coached charges side as they suffered offensively.
Game Hero: Jean-Jacques Boissy and Crawford were the main protagonists, a real thorn in Thunders flesh as both dropped 28 and 24 points respectively, the latter adding seven assists and four steals for 27 in efficiency. Boissy came an assist shy of a double-double.
Stats Don’t Lie: With nine lead changes and six ties, little separate the two sides statistically and the game came down to who took their chances on the basket. This is the only match so far that has not had a clear winner all the way to the buzzer as Thunder would have won it had their final attempt at the basket dropped. Urunani, however, registered more points on fast breaks with 14 against 5.
Bottom Line: Urunani are almost assured of their slot to the Elite 16 after the three wins while the Kenyan side will look to redeem themselves in the remaining two matches, against GNBC and JKT.
They Said: "We had prepared well for Urunani, well aware of what they would throw at us. We had a good start and kept the momentum going until the final whistle. Iroegbu fouling out and Will picking a slight injury earlier slowed us a bit on offense and in the end we couldn't seal the win. We, however, will not dwell on this loss as we have to regroup and win the remaining two matches to achieve our goal of qualification,"- Tylor Ongwae.
"This is what we play for, putting a smile on the fans with such performances and I couldn't be happier with this match. We kept pushing and held on to the last minute for victory. We hope to finish the job fighting just as hard as this is the joy of playing the game,"- Marcus Christopher Crawford.
FIBA