Oilers expect tougher Matero Magic after beating COSPN in Opener
Okello charges during a league game. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
What looked like a blowout win for Oilers at the start turned into a proper contest after COSPN took the third quarter 23-11 to cut what was a 21-point deficit to just nine going into the final ten minutes.
City Oilers started their Basketball Africa League Elite 16 Qualifiers round with a 71-59 win over Club Omnisports Police Nationale of Madagascar on Tuesday in Johannesburg, South Africa.
What looked like a blowout win for Oilers at the start turned into a proper contest after COSPN took the third quarter 23-11 to cut what was a 21-point deficit to just nine going into the final ten minutes.
The deficit was further cut to seven points by the Malagasy side at the start of the fourth frame but Oilers did just enough to win by 12 and start with a positive result.
Germaine Roebuck led Oilers’ offence from the start and got 15 points in the first half. He only added two in the second half.
Jimmy Enabu started it all off with a strong drive to the basket while Titus Lual connected from three-point range to make it 14-7 midway through the first quarter.
The UCU Canons forward garnered 11 points and six rebounds in the end. Falando Cortez Jones scored 15 on his Oilers debut.
The Ugandan champions will have no time to rest with Matero Magic their next opponents today in a game that could see Oilers seal a semi-final place with a game to play.
Mandy Juruni’s charges got the better of the Zambian side in the first round of qualifiers in October but cannot take them lightly. Magic only replaced South Sudan’ Cobra for the Elite 16 round.
“We can't underestimate them. They have made some additions and want to win as well,” Juruni said of the Zambian outfit.
Oilers need to be in the top two sides to make the semis, from which the finalists and the third-place playoff winner qualify for the third season of BAL.
