City Oilers stay on course in Division East Elite 16
Guard Fayed Bbaale is making the right plays in South Africa. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
Robinson Opong’s three pointer to start the third frame lifted Oilers, who went on to take it 20-17 and establish a three-point lead going into the last 10 minutes.
City Oilers have already qualified for the Division East Elite 16 semifinals following Wednesday afternoon’s 84-71 victory over Zimbabwe’s JBC.
The Ugandan champions defeated COSPN on Tuesday and Wednesday’s victory means they will definitely be in the top two of Group B.
It was yet again a shaky start for Oilers, who struggled to execute on offence and lost the first quarter 22-20.
Mandy Juruni’s charges rose to the occassion in the second frame and took it 25-23 to ensure the scores were levelled at 45-45 going into the halftime break.
Robinson Opong’s three pointer to start the third frame lifted Oilers, who went on to take it 20-17 and establish a three-point lead going into the last 10 minutes.
A 19-09 run in the fourth quarter sealed the victory to leave the nine-time National Basketball League champions in a comfortable place.
Parrish Petty led Oilers with a game-high 29 points that included a four-for-10 rhythm from downtown and nine-for-10 from the free throw line.
Dane Miller Jr. and Germaine Roebuck Jr. contribute 14 and 12 points respectively while Titus Lual had nine points and 13 rebounds.
Oilers will conclude Group B action with today’s clash against Mozambique’s Ferroviario da Beira.
The top two sides will advance to the semis and face the other two from Group A, which has Cape Town of South Africa, NBA Academy, Tanzania’s Pazi BBC and Dynamo of Burundi.
The two finalists and the winner of the third-place playoff will book their tickets to the BAL.
