Al Ahly Ly score over 100 points for the second time in row to relaunch Playoffs hopes

Al Ahly Libya recorded their second consecutive win in the 2026 Kalahari Conference on Friday at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, beating the Nairobi City Thunder 107–80.

The Libyan champions improved their record to 2–2 with this win, while the Thunder dropped to 1–3 with one game left.

Al Ahly Libya used a strong second half to overcome a determined Thunder team who were trying to revive their playoff hopes.

Donovan Willians and Jo Lual Acuil led Al Ahly Ly with 23 points each and Majok Deng added 20 on a spectacular shooting night.

This is the second time in a row that Al Ahly Ly scored over 100 points in a game.

Jawachi Nzeakor led the Kenyan champions in scoring, finishing with 13 points.

The Thunder stepped on the floor ready to fight for their season.

They fought for every possession; they rallied from difficult situations to eventually take a two-point (42-40) halftime lead.they even led by three at some stage.

Al Ahly Ly small forward Donovan Williams admitted that the Thunder caused them trouble. 

He said: “Our resilience gave us the win today. It showed who we are as a team. We have all been playing hard collectively.” 

He continued: “They hit some big shots in the second quarter and after halftime. That run they made was tough for us; they were making big shots, but the good thing for us was our maturity in not letting it snowball into more points. It could have gotten out of hand if we had let them, but we got some stops after halftime and started the second half the way we started the game.”

It was in the third quarter that the 2024 BAL runners-up changed their approach to the game. Al Ahly led by as many as 31 points at one stage.

Majok Deng played a huge role in rescuing Ahmed Soliman’s team, finishing the third quarter with a perfect 7-for-7 shooting record before signing out with 8-for-9.

Albert Odero, who had missed the first two games due to a hamstring injury, was carried off the court in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury. He finished with 12 points off the bench.

“It was pretty tough today,” said Thunder guard Derrick Ogechi, who shot 5-for-8 from the floor, finishing with 13 points.

“We knew they were going to come out hard in the second half and play with intensity. We needed to match it and today we just didn’t do that. These guys are a really good team; they all have experience playing in the BAL and they played well today. 

Asked about the Thunder’s 1-3 record, Ogechi replied: “We knew that we needed to get the win today, we were excited to come here but the results just didn’t happen today. We still have one more game; we just have to regroup, focus and lock in on the last one.” 

The Nairobi City Thunder will close their Kalahari Conference on Sunday, taking on Dar City while Al Ahly Ly face the Johannesburg Giants on Saturday.