City Oilers 78-76 Power (Oilers lead series 1-0)
The opening game of the 2016 National Basketball League playoffs finals was Power’s to win – but they did not.
City Oilers came from three points down with just over a minute to play to beat Power at the packed to capacity Lugogo Indoor Stadium on Friday night.
Oilers center Andrew Opio opened the scoring but through Joseph Ikong and Paul Odong, Power responded with runouts and eventually edged the first quarter 23-22.
Jonah Otim connected from 3-point range to start the second quarter a momentum shifted to the defending champions who led 45-38 at the half.
Despite trailing by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, Power played their way into the game and trailed by four (61-57) going into the final frame.
Ikong who went for game-high 27 points had a couple of lay-ups to start the fourth and Odong (14 points) tied the game at 63 with just over six minutes to play.
Turning Point
In a tight fourth quarter, neither side led by more than four points. With just under three minutes to play and City Oilers trailing 68-67, Kami Kabange (10 points) connected from his office and Ndikumana laid in and the three-time champions led 71-68.
Power put on a 6-0 run capped by Micheal Makiadi’s put back with 1:22 and the Arena that had mostly their fans and sympathizers went into frenzy.
Mandy Juruni was forced to call for a timeout and on return, Jimmy Enabu drew a foul on Odong and connected both throws with a minute to play.
On the other end, Ikong jacked a three-pointer and Makiadi’s attempt on the rebound elicited no joy.
Enabu drove across the floor to lay up and Oilers led 75-74 with 30 seconds. Ndikumana laid in on the break and Oilers lead was up to 77-74.
Power was forced into a timeout. On return, they fumbled on the rebound but Makiadi (10 points, 13 rebounds) gathered the mess and forced a shot from beyond the arc drawing a foul from Kabange with 3.7 seconds. The center missed the first of free throws and victory was in sight for Oilers.
“It was a tough loss to take but it’s just one game. We still have six games to do what we do better,” Odong said after the game.
Jonah Otim scored team-high 20 points, Jimmy Enabu had 16 and 5 assists while Ben Komakech scored 10 and assisted six baskets.
“We just got over the line. This was Power’s game to win, we will have ours to win,” Enabu admitted.
Game 2 of the series is on Sunday night at Lugogo.
