Holders Nairobi City Thunder and former champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) are one win away from a place in the 2026 Kenya National Basketball League (KNBL) finals.
Thunder beat Stanbic Shield 2-0 lead ahead of tomorrow’s third play in their best-of-five semifinal playoff.
Thunder, this season, followed up Wednesday’s 82-65 Game 1 victory with an emphatic 91-67 win in Game 2 at Nyayo Stadium on Thursday, putting themselves within touching distance of the championship decider.
The Brad Ibs-coached side will have a chance to punch their ticket to the final tomorrow, Saturday 19, at the same venue when they take on their opponent for the third match of the series.
City Thunder raced into a 35-19 lead after the opening quarter and maintained a 48-33 advantage at halftime. Although Stanbic Shield narrowed the gap during the third quarter, Thunder responded strongly in the final period, outscoring their opponents 23-12 to seal the 24-point victory.
Garang Diing led Thunder’s scoring with 20 points, while Dismas Mbaka added 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and five steals. Captain Tyler Ongwae contributed 15 points, with Derrick Ogechi adding 14 points and five blocks.
David Deng was also influential off the bench, scoring 13 points. Bush Wamukota controlled the boards with 10 rebounds, while Eugene Adera collected eight rebounds.
For Shield, Alvin Otieno and Cliff Alela led the scoring with 16 points apiece. Alela also collected 12 rebounds, while Lenson Kisia finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
Thunder will be looking to win the league unbeaten for the third season in a row
KPA will be hosting Equity Bank at the Makande Gymnasium in Mombasa and a win for either Thunder or KPA will see them book their place in the final and bring the series to an end, with Games Four and Five scheduled for Sunday and Monday respectively.