Nairobi City Thunder finished a third consecutive unbeaten Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) League campaign, defeating Kenya Ports Authority 74-70 in Game 3 of the best-of-five playoff final at Kasarani. The result gave Thunder a 3-0 series sweep.
Thunder had opened the series with a 78-67 overtime win on Saturday, September 26, after Eugene Adera hit a three-pointer with two seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. Thunder then outscored KPA 19-8 in the extra period. Tylor Ongwae led Thunder with 20 points in the Game 2 win on Sunday, September 27, while Derrick Ogechi added 18 and Adera contributed 11. NCT won that game 72-63 at Makande Gymnasium.
KPA started strongly in the decider and led 27-18 after the opening quarter before Thunder cut the gap to 35-29 at halftime. Thunder dominated the third quarter, outscoring KPA 24-13 to take a 53-48 lead into the final period, then held on to close out the 74-70 win.
Captain Tylor Ongwae led Thunder with 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Garang Diing added 15 points and six rebounds. Ogechi contributed 13 points and Adera finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. Salim Kisilu led KPA with 17 points, followed by Tobias Odhiambo with 13.
Head coach Brad Ibs praised his squad's resilience after the early deficit. "It's a very intense series and KPA were a very competitive season," Ibs said. "This was a testimony of how we go about our work despite having a great team."
