Joburg Giants sink to second defeat as Nairobi steal Thunder at SunBet

The Nairobi City Thunder saved their best performance until last to secure their first win of the season, with Garang Diing proving the key to their 71-65 victory over the Johannesburg Giants on Sunday.

With the score level at 52-52 at the end of the third quarter, the Thunder tasked Diing with taking control, and the South Sudanese player did not disappoint at Pretoria’s SunBet Arena.

He scored 12 of his 24 game-high points in the fourth quarter, securing victory.

Backed an enthusiastic home crowd, the Giants found themselves trailing by double digits, but managed a 7-0 scoring run to relaunch their chances in the third. However, the Thunder’s tenacity and desperation proved challenging to overcome.

Tylor Ongwae and Lance Thomas, the other two Thunder players to score in double digits, finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

City Thunder guard Eugene Adera, who was part of the squad that felt short of reaching post-season in 2024, insisted beating Giants was the boost they needed.

“It’s an amazing feeling because we really needed this win,” Adera said.

“After losing the first game, we knew this was a must-win as they were playing in front of their home fans.”

With the win, the Thunder improved to 1-1 with three games left in the Kalahari Conference.

“Our goal is to make the playoffs. The upcoming games will be tough, but we want to win them all,” Adera said.

Jakobi Heady led the Giants with 20 points. Joshua Ozabor, who contributed 18, remained confident for the remainder of the conference.

“We got to the third set, but our defence was a bit off there. We adjusted our defence, but we didn’t rotate properly. Our players gave their all,” Ozabor said.

“We still have a chance. Let’s put the first two games behind us. The next three will be tough battles, but we’ll be ready.”

In a nail-biting earlier game, Antino Jackson Jnr emerged as an unlikely hero, saving the day for the RSSB Tigers.

Though Teafale Lenard Jnr led the Tigers with 26 points and Mangok Mathiang scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds, it was Jackson Jnr who sank the three-pointer that secured the Tigers’s 82-78 victory over Petro de Luanda.

Before the score with just five seconds left on the clock, Jackson Jnr had missed all five of his shots and spent most of the second half on the bench.

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