Saturday, April 27
*Al Ahly Benghazi 110-78 City Oilers
*Al Ahly 94-71 Bangui
Standings
- Al Ahly (Egypt) 5-1
- Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya) 3-3
- Bangui (Central Africa Rep) 3-3
- City Oilers (Uganda) 1-5
City Oilers missed out on a place in the Basketball Africa League playoffs, finishing at the bottom of the Nile Conference with a disappointing record of 1-5 in Cairo, Egypt.
In their final match against Al Ahly Benghazi, City Oilers had no chance of clinching one of the top two automatic playoff berths but could have nabbed third place with a win by more than 11 points.
Per BAL regulations, the top two teams from each conference advance directly to the playoffs, while the two best third-place teams from all three conferences round out the eight-team playoff lineup.
Despite a promising start with a tied first quarter at 20-20, Al Ahly pulled ahead by 12 points at halftime and maintained their lead.
Struggling with shooting accuracy, rebounds, and turnovers, the Oilers missed 20 of 30 attempts from beyond the arc, were out-rebounded 34-46, and committed 16 turnovers.
Muhammed Bashir and Randy Culpepper contributed 14 points each, with Robinson Opong adding 11 for the Oilers.
Jo-Lual Acuil Jr. of Al Ahly Benghazi set a new BAL All-Time scoring record with 42 points and 13 rebounds, while Kevin Marquis and Majok Machar added 21 and 18 points respectively for the opposition.
Under the leadership of new Moroccan coach Karim Nesba, City Oilers faced scrutiny over recruitment and selection, expectedly with local players seeing limited playing time.
Looking ahead, the team aims to refocus on winning the local league for a record tenth consecutive time, with hopes of returning to the Basketball Africa League next season.
