Canons expose Oilers
Oiled no more? James Okello of City Oilers blocks Fadhili Chuma of UCU Canons during the National Basketball League at the MTN Arena, Lugogo. UCU won, 61-48. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA
What you need to know:
- Defensively Landry (Ndikumana) helped a bit but offensively he was very poor. He is the kind of player we are looking at to give us points in the paint. He knows that and it is something he has to change,” added City Oilers’ Juruni.
- The Burundian who was expected to fill the void left by Kami Kabange finished with a paltry six points and the same number of rebounds for the Oilers who had Jimmy Enabu and James Okello top score with 11 points apiece but were restricted to 31 points after three quarters.
KAMPALA.
There has been an aura of invincibility over the last two seasons as City Oilers racked up four straight National Basketball League titles.
Despite the odd regular season defeat, the Mandy Juruni coached side have always appeared to be in control.
That however, no longer seems to be the case after the Oilers lost their second game in four outings, 61-48 to UCU Canons in the peak of the Heroes Day games at the Lugogo MTN Arena on Friday evening.
“A team like us should not really score 48 points. We had so many open look shots but we were missing inside and 10-ft jumpers and from outside. Our second season we faced something like this. It is good the defeats are coming early,” Juruni remarked after the game.
The performance could also be attributed to some good UCU Canons defense and a lack of inside presence for the Oilers.
“Before the game we agreed that we had to win at all costs because we couldn’t afford to lose three games in a row especially against top teams. We gave them only the shots that we wanted them to take and didn’t give them too much in the paint. Every time we take care of business on the inside there’s always a good chance to win,” UCU coach Nicholas Natuhereza stated after the game.
“Defensively Landry (Ndikumana) helped a bit but offensively he was very poor. He is the kind of player we are looking at to give us points in the paint. He knows that and it is something he has to change,” added City Oilers’ Juruni.
The Burundian who was expected to fill the void left by Kami Kabange finished with a paltry six points and the same number of rebounds for the Oilers who had Jimmy Enabu and James Okello top score with 11 points apiece but were restricted to 31 points after three quarters.
UCU were on the other hand led by Joas Maheta who finished with a game high 18 points while Steven Wundi and centre Titus Lual added 11 and 10 points respectively for the Canons who won all four quarters.
The Canons improve to a 2-2 record behind KIU and Power who also victorious on the day.
BASKETBALL LEAGUE RESULTS
Pemba Warriors 80-55 UPDF
Betway Power 60-50 Sharing Youth
KIU Titans 70-55 Our Saviour
UCU Canons 61-48 City Oilers
Sunday fixtures
Men: Sharing Youth vs JKL
Nkumba vs Falcons
Women: Nkumba vs Lioness
