Nairobi City Thunder is gearing up for its inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2025 campaign, with qualifiers set to begin today in Dar es Salaam, maintaining full focus.

The reigning Kenya National Basketball Champions will take on Beau Vallon Heat of Seychelles in the first round of qualifiers in the Eastern Division, Group Phase.

The venue will be Filbert Bayi Schools, and the Kenyan representatives, under head coach Brad Ibs, will look to utilize their physical reach and tactical IQ to make a statement of intent as they seek to qualify for the prestigious BAL competition in Rwanda in 2025.

Thunder, who left for Tanzania Monday night, boast a galaxy of A-list stars likely to lead the team to glory.

New signing and 2023 Most Valuable Player Eugene Adera underscored the value of teamwork.

“Everything is working well so far, and we have trained properly. It is important to work as a team because this is a qualifier, and we want to get through to the next round. We have been taken through the right paces to perform well,” the ex-KPA forward told journalists after their last training session at Nyayo Gymnasium.

On his part, coach Ibs emphasized the execution plan for the team and the need to stay true to their mission.

“We look at the tournament with optimism, and therefore we have very high expectations. We want to go out there and win all our games. Our guys are committed, but in all sincerity, given how we have prepared, anything other than a win would seem like a failure because we need to be in Rwanda,” he remarked.

Kenya’s Thunder’s next game will be against Burundian giants Urunani tomorrow, followed by Saturday’s clash with Madagascan outfit GNBC (Gendarmerie Nationale Basketball Club) and closing out the group phase against home army side Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa (JKT) of Tanzania on Sunday night.

The 12-man traveling squad includes big names such as shooting guard Kennedy Wachira, small guard Tyler Ongwae, center William Davis II, small forward Albert Einstein Odero, power forward Fidel Okoth, point guard Griffin Ligare and power forward Ariel Okall Koranga.

Others are Nigerian import Uche Ireogbu, South Sudanese national Garang Diir Akol Diing, and ex-Ulinzi Warriors veteran James Maina Mwangi.