City Oilers Captain Jimmy Enabu. FIBA photo
Tuesday, December 17
*KPA 0-20 City Oilers (W/0)
*GNBC 78-75 UNZA Pacers
*Ferroviario 74-59 Cobra
*Patriots 113-61 JKT
Wednesday, December 18
*City Oilers Vs Ferroviario De Maputo – 1:30PM
*JKT Vs GNBC – 4:30PM
*Cobra Vs KPA – 6:30PM
*UNZA Vs Patriots – 9PM
City Oilers had a walkover against Kenya Ports Authority after the Kenyan side failed to show up for their opener as the 2020 Basketball Africa League (BAL) East Division Qualifiers tipped off at the newly constructed state of the art Kigali Arena in Rwanda on Tuesday.
Oilers were scheduled to face KPA on Tuesday but the Kenyan side were nowhere to be seen, prompting news that the side had pulled out due to financial constraints and reported internal wrangles within the team.
However, KPA is now expected to be in Rwanda about three hours to their opener against South Sudan’s Cobra.
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Oilers, who got another day of rest, have now shifted their guns to Mozambique’s Ferroviario De Maputo on game day two’s early kickoff.
A win for Mandy Juruni’s side will seal their place at the semis.
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Juruni said that they have had two training sessions by Monday morning and he expressed how excited and looking forward to their first game.
“We thought we would play KPA but we are told that they are not here,” Juruni told Capital FM’s Brian Tuka. “We have to switch our minds for Wednesday’s game. It has given us a chance to see our opponents play, KPA not showing up today is not going to change anything, we have been ready this whole week.”
On facing Maputo, Juruni predicted a tough encounter;
“Its not going to be an easy game, lucky enough we have played a Mozambique team before, all in all, we have a goal and we want to achieve it as a team. We have the right personnel.
“We are focussed and we have a chance. We have been hit with injuries this year, but the new additions have improved our depth and strength overall.”
Maputo who topped their table in Johannesburg qualifiers during the first round, began from where they stopped on Tuesday despite a slow start.
The Mozambican team recovered from a poor start before dismantling a South Sudanese team that has familiar faces to Ugandans – Geoffrey Soro and Stephen Wundi.
Helton Ubisse weighed in with 16 points while Alvaro Calvo Masa added 11 points in the victory, and the duo is expected to give Oilers some good time on Wednesday.
With Jimmy Enabu, James Okello, Landry Ndikumana, Jordin Mayes, Robinson Opong and the new additions, Oilers will feel that they have enough in their tank to last the journey.
