City Oilers coach Mandy Juruni has said that the injuries on his players are responsible for the club’s unfortunate results recently.
After six games down the lane, the six time defending champions have lost twice and won four games.
Read: How Warriors Beat Oilers at Lugogo
Oilers’ unfortunate state was highly evident by the inability to benefit from Warriors slow start and squandering a ten point lead going into the last quarter.
Speaking after the loss against Warriors on Friday night, Juruni who is a former Warriors guard explained:
“Jimmy was not supposed to be playing tonight and if you noticed especially in the first half he was on and off because of the groin injury he has, so, he wasn’t fully fit.
“Koma (Ben Komakech) has a groin injury as well, Steve (Omony) has a knee injury, Josh (Johnson) has a calf muscle injury, Najja (Daniel Juuko) has just got back, he had a broken figure. Oxy (James Okello) and Landry (Ndikunana) are also playing with an injuries.
“We are not fully fit, but we just have to fight through it because we don’t have a big team.”
Okello hit a game high 21 points while Ndikumana (15 points) was the other Oilers player who reached double figures as Oilers suffered their second loss in a row, after falling to UCU Canons on Sunday at YMCA.
“They are getting better, and within few weeks we will be all fit,” said Juruni. “We will be fine. I know our team and what we can do. With a fully fit, we will be good to go.”
Oilers looked blunt on conversion, shooting 28-of-70 from the field, and 28% from beyond the arc while converted only three free-throws on the line.
The side gave away the ball 18 times and managed a minimal 14 points from the bench.
“I think we played well despite coming out at the wrong end. It’s not all about losses and wins to me, it’s about how we play. From my observation, I think we played way better than all other games we have played so far.”
“Warriors shot the ball well, but I think we also didn’t play better defense. There are a lot of positives and I am confident that we will do better.”
City Oilers Next Five Matches:
May 15
JKL Dolphins
May 18
Sharing Youth
May 24
Ndejje Angels
May 26
Our Saviour
June 1
KCCA Men
