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KCCA add to City Oilers' misery
Oielrs' coach Andrew Tendo has seen his team slide fast. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
JT Lady Jaguars also recorded their first ever victory against the ten-time champions when the two sides met in March.
KCCA Panthers have become the latest team to win their first ever game against the previously untouchable City Oilers.
The Panthers, led by new signing Toussaint Mapuya, dominated Oilers in the second half of Easter Monday’s clash at YMCA to win it 68-57 and record their fifth victory of the season.
With the victory, KCCA also condemned the defending champions to their third loss in four games.
JT Lady Jaguars also recorded their first ever victory against the ten-time champions when the two sides met in March.
“It’s a good win after a tough loss on Friday so, at least we can build on this and see the way forward because it’s a long season,” Panthers’ head coach Raymond Muhumuza said after the game.
KCCA had succumbed to their first loss of the season on Friday, a disappointing 74-37 loss to the high-flying Namuwongo Blazers.
The start was far from impressive for the Panthers as they failed to get stops in the first quarter, allowing Oilers to pour in 27 points and lead by eight to close the frame.
Fayed Baale and Ben Komakech were in full control of proceedings, shooting well from beyond the arc to keep the scoreboard ticking.
The lead stretched to nine points (37-28) going into the halftime break and it was time for KCCA to do some soul searching and plan for the big task at hand.
“We had to cut out their shooters, especially Fayed. We had to force them to play through the bigs and we could live with that,” Muhumuza revealed.
The second half was all about KCCA, with Mapuya directing traffic and making big plays to trouble Oilers’ defence.
Andrew Tendo’s charges, who had scored 27 in one quarter, were limited to 20 in the whole of the second half.
KCCA, meanwhile, exploded to score 20 in each of the third and fourth frame to win by 11 points.
Mapuya registered a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds on the day while Davis Asiimwe and Stephen Otoa added 13 and 12 points respectively.
Caesar Kizito posted 11 points and nine rebounds against his former side.
For Oilers, Baale got a game-high 21 points but was the only player to score in double figures as the rest struggled to get going on offence.
Chemistry issues
Baale highlighted the need for the Oilers to get the new signings blending with the old guard to form a good team for the season.
“We have a couple of new guys and we haven't figured out how to play with each other so I think it will take a while but we shall be fine,” the former UU Canons guard said.
“We made some turnovers and I think we just need to know when to pass it, when to run the fastbreak and when to slow it down. Those are the main things that are disturbing us,” he added.
Oilers fell to the Blazers in their opening game of the season before losing to JT Jaguars.
National Basketball League
Results
Women
KCCA 84-49 Nabisunsa
UCU 81-47 Nkumba
Men
KIU 46-63 UCU
Nam Blazers 81-44 Livingstone
KCCA 68-57 City Oilers
Wednesday fixtures
Lugogo
W -JT L. Jaguars vs. UCU, pm
M -Livingstone vs. UCU, 9pm
YMCA
W -Miracle vs. Stormers, 7pm
M -Victoria vs. Sommet, 9pm
Abja Park
W -Nabisunsa vs. Nkumba, 7pm
M -KIU vs. Rezlife, 9pm
