By PHILLIP ORWA
Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya) claimed their first win of the 2026 BAL season with a 71-65 victory over Johannesburg Giants (South Africa), as the 2026 Basketball Africa League’s (BAL) Kalahari Conference continued yesterday at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa
Garang Diing led all scorers with 24 points, including a decisive fourth‑quarter surge that swung the game in Thunder’s favour.
Tylor Ongwae and Lance Thomas added 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Jakobi Heady topped the scoring for Giants with 20 points.
RSSB Tigers (Rwanda) edged Petro de Luanda (Angola) 82-78 in a nail‑biting contest decided in the final seconds to secure the Tigers’ second straight win of the season.
Teafale Lenard Jr. led RSSB with 26 points and five steals, while Mangok Mathiang Ayub recorded a double‑double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Petro was paced by Childe Dundao, who scored 19 points off the bench.
