FUBA Playoffs Finals:
Oilers vs. Power – 7.30pm, Lugogo
As the FUBA Playoffs finals tip off Friday night, Power coach Arnold Lando is confident his side will match City Oilers in every aspect.
The tactician, who replaced Brian Wathum during the regular season, believes he has a side that can push Oilers and even clinch the title.
“We are even in terms of position ability and strength, how either executes will be the determining factor,” Lando told Kawowo Sports ahead of the 7-game series.
The 2016 finals stretched to this year because of Oilers’ involvement at the recently concluded FIBA Africa Champions Cup which left Power without any serious action since November.
“We just have to play good defense and concentrate throughout the series,” Lando, formerly a trainer at the club, noted.
Power are chasing for their sixth championship which would put them level with StarTimes Falcons as the two most successful Ugandan teams in the domestic league.
“We have been waiting for this moment and we are ready to play,” Power coach Arnold Lando told Pepper Sport ahead off game one tonight.
The last time the two sides met in the finals, Oilers made light work of Power in four games.
Asked about the likelihood of Power being rusty having taken some time off the game, Lando revealed: “We knew that we had finals to play so everyone is focused on the series. It’s not like we didn’t know about the finals”
Power have never won a series against Oilers and will be hoping for a first time this year. They lost the first series meeting between the two sides in 2013 when Oilers won the semis 3-1 to advance to the finals and win their first championship.
What followed was a 4-0 clean sweep by Oilers in the finals the following year. Mandy Juruni’s charges then made light work of Power in 2015 with a 3-1 victory in the semifinals.