Eliud Owalo Foundation tourney: Thunder make minced meat of Ulinzi

Source: Capital FM Kenya
Author: Timothy Olobulu

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 12 - It almost turned out to be a training session as Nairobi City Thunder underlined their status as the best men's basketball team in the country with an 81-40 thrashing of Ulinzi Warriors in the semi-final of the Eliud Owalo Foundation Elite Tourney at the Nyayo Gymnasium on Saturday night.

Thunder were imperious, commanding the game from start to finish, and coach Brad Ibs even had the prestige of benching his entire starting five for the last two quarters, in a one-way duel against the military side.

Ken Wachira put up a massive performance with a 30-point haul that completed a double-double that also had 10 rebounds. 27 of those points by Wachira came off the three-point line as he converted nine of his massive 20 attempts from beyond the arch.

Thunder were merely practicing from the three point line, as they casually took shots and even when they had possession in the paint, chose to swing the ball out to try for three. In total, they had 43 attempts from beyond the arch.

Ibs' usual starters, Albert Odero, Okall Okarnga, Garang Ding and skipper Griffin Ligare all played under six minutes as Ibs let the others earn some valuable playing time that gives them confidence heading into the league play-offs.

The impressive diminutive Moses Alier had 10 points, same as skipper Ligare who played just 5:59 of the duel.

Thunder were dominant from the word go and went on an 8-0 scoring run with just two minutes on the clock with threes from Ligare and Okall before the Warriors asked for a time out. It did little as with 4:40 to play, the military side were yet to get a basket, Thunder leading 13-0.

Eventually, they saw off the quarter with a massive 30-7 lead. With the game in comfortable distance, Ibs pulled out all his stars and let the rest take charge, with Alier, who hasn't had much of game time in the league starring from point guard.

The game was washed out for Ulinzi by halftime, with Thunder leading 56-15. They went toe to toe in scoring in the last two quarters, but the damage was long done.

Collins Muliro was the highest scoring Ulinzi player with 12 points.