Thunder strike Strathmore to secure third place

Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men’s Premier League team Thunder Sunday beat Strathmore University Blades 63-61 at United States International University of Africa (USIU-A) Outdoor Courts in Nairobi to be guaranteed of third place in the regular season.

That victory saw the team climb from fourth place to third with 32 points. The team has so far won 19 matches and lost six and is yet to play one match before end of the second leg.

Blades, who were Thunder's biggest threat in the race for the third position, fell behind in the league standings after losing their eighth match. Blades have garnered 28 points after registering 10 wins with eight loses.

Like Thunder, Blades have one match at hand and they can only go up to 30 points. Champions Kenya Ports Authority have garnered 36 points and are sure to finish top of the league with two matches to go. Ulinzi Warriors, who have played all matches, are second on 35 points.

Blades started the match strongly, with forward Fidel Okoth who scored 30 points leading the university students to a 18-15 first quarter run. Thunder took long to settle down and they trailed 24-34 at the breather.

Thunder used the half-time break to correct mistakes they had made earlier on in the match, and reaped instant benefits in the third quarter. Thunder’s red-hot shooting guard Griffins Ligare scored 24 points in the match, and towering Kevin Chogo hit the target with precision to guarantee the victory. Thunder outscored Blades 26-12 at end of the third quarter, a result which went a long way in securing the victory.

However, Blades raced to a 15-12 lead at the end of fourth quarter but Thunder"s huge 14-point margin in third quarter was enough to hand the team victory. Chogo added 15 points for the winners while Cliff Alela replied with 10 for the losers.

At the same time, Riara University tightened their grip on the top spot of men's Division Two table of standings following their 49-40 victory over struggling Upper Hill High School.

The win saw Riara increase their points tally to 40 in the league, having won 18 matches and lost four.

Riara got their opponents on the back foot as Upper Hill’s defence struggled to contain their opponents from the first whistle. Riara led 19-13 lead at end of the first quarter and 36-21 at half-time, with Paddy Awuor contributing 19 points for the eventual winners.

Nebulas rose to fourth place after beating Egerton University 74-63 in Kakamega. The victory took their tally to 33 from 20 matches, while Egerton was further condemned to the bottom of the league standings with 14 points.

Blazers lie second on the 14-team table of standings with 36 points, Kenya Airports Authority are third on 34 points while Little Prince are fourth with 33 points. Zetech University also defeated newcomers Kenya Defence Forces Morans 70-56 in their return leg match of the men's Division One League.

Zetech, who had William Okombo scoring 15 points, led 37-30 at half-time. Joseph Mwaura hit game-high 26 points for the soldiers.