Wednesday, August 9
•Nabisunsa 63-82 UCU Lady Canons
•City Oilers 80-88 Ndejje Univ Angels
Friday, August 11
•KCCA Vs JT Lady Jaguars
•UCU Canons Vs D-Mark Power
City Oilers’ unbeaten run was stunningly ended by Ndejje University Angels as the National Basketball League returned on Wednesday at Lugogo Indoor Arena.
Ndejje won a thrilling game 88-80 to down the Oilers who had won their opening 17 league games this season before Wednesday.
The victory is a shocker, especially by a relegation-threatened side that has had a staggering start this campaign!
Samuel Ajack and Gatwang Thuok who made their season debut on the night, led the assault, notching 23 points each, with the latter adding 10 rebounds.
Haron Alinaitwe and Cikom Monybai contributed 13 points each while Joseph Kumbai had 9 points and 10 rebounds on a night Ndejje will remember vividly.
Oilers, who won the reverse fixture 79-57, just like all fans inside the Arena, remained confident throughout the contest despite a poor start that saw them trail 03-15 midway the first quarter.
They were down by 10 (24-14) after the first quarter but came back stronger and built their resurgence on a 11-0 run in the second quarter to take a 35-31 lead at the long break.
But Ajack took over business in the third quarter where he scored four threes to hand his side a 59-52 lead going into the last quarter.
Cikom scored back-to-back points including a three-point jumper as Ndejje opened a 13-point gap to start the fourth quarter.
An 8-0 run looked to have cut deficit for Oilers who were down by just five points, but Ndejje sailed forward once again everytime Oilers looked to close to the gap.
And Ndejje never relinquished their advantage, going on to clinch an unlikely win.
The Angels out-rebounded Oilers 57-54 in a game they drilled in a whooping 13 threes!
The win is the third in a row for Ndejje who also stunned UCU Lady Canons before the league took a break.
This, is another big victory for coach John Omondi this season whose Magic Stormers also stunned KCCA Leopards and JT Lady Jaguars in the Women Division.
Despite missing Michael Ngut, Oilers had enough in their armoury including the return of Luak Ruai after a short spell in Georgia.
Tonny Drilleba (20), Fayed Bbaale (13) and Ben Komakech (10) top-scored for the defending champions but in vain.
But some players failed to shine on the night including Titus Lual who finished with zero points. Caesar Kizito and allawi Ssenkubuge were unused substitutes.
Ndejje who have won six in 16 games, return to action against Our Saviour this Saturday while Oilers will face KIU Titans on August 23.
