It was a day of mixed outcomes for D’Tigers duo Uchenna Iroegbu and Caleb Agada, following their respective participation for Kenyan outfit Nairobi City Thunder and Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya in the Nile Conference of the Basketball Africa League in Kigali, Rwanda.
Having lost their opening two games to host team APR of Rwanda and Al Ahli Tripoli, Nairobi City Thunder needed to respond against South African franchise MBB, in order to stand a chance of reaching the BAL Finals in South Africa in June.
However, it proved to be business as usual in terms of defeats as MBB pipped the Thunder 75-74, with Thunder’s Iroegbu posting six points, four rebounds, two assists and three turnovers in 17 minutes played during the defeat.
The Thunder trailed by seven points at the end of the first quarter, but rallied spectacularly to overturn the deficit and take a one-point lead heading into half-time.
In the third quarter, the Thunder continued piling the pressure, resulting in a 10-point lead by the Kenyan outfit. However, it was a totally different story in the fourth quarter as MBB rallied to complete a comeback and inflict a third succession loss for the Thunder in the competition.
Elsewhere, it was more positive for fellow countryman Caleb Agada, who ended up on the winning side with Al Ahli Tripoli, as they dismissed hosts APR 90-68 to record a third consecutive victory in Kigali.
In the course of the game, Al Ahli Tripoli only lost the first quarter to APR by just six points, but came on strong through the remaining three quarters to win the tie by as much as 22 points.
Tripoli return to action on Thursday for their second meeting in the series against Nairobi City Thunder, having eased to a 115-87 win in the previous meeting.
Agada was on the floor for 24 minutes, putting up nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals to help Tripoli to another vital win, which will be crucial in determining who seals a spot to the BAL Finals in South Africa.