- Power 75-70 City Oilers (OT)
- KCCA Leopards 62-61 UCU Lady Canons
Power Basketball Club rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit to defeat defending champions City Oilers 75-70 in the National Basketball League on Friday night.
With the two sides playing their last game before the start of the Zone V championship on Sunday, it was an even match-up for most part of the opening quarter before Oilers closed out with a 6-0 run for an 18-12 lead.
The four-time defending champions started the second quarter with a 7-0 run and were quickly into a double-digit lead as Power had nothing falling in the basket. The five-time champions only managed a couple of field goals in the frame and were down by 19 (17-36) heading back to the locker rooms.
Power used a team effort to trim away in the third quarter to as low as 8 points but Tony Drileba connected from 3-point range at the buzzer to restore City Oilers’ double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Willy Nijimbere hit a long two to ignite a 9-0 run that pulled Power within 2 points (50-52) in just under four minutes.
Turning Point
With 3:35 to play, Michael Makiadi put Power in the lead (57-56) for the first time since Isaac Afidra’s game-opening layup.
However, City Oilers stayed locked in with a couple of throws from Steven Omony and a jumper from Ben Komakech after crossing through Power’s defense.
Omony fouled out to send Makiadi to the line with 12 seconds to play and Power leading 63-62. The center who is having an MVP season hit both throws to give Power a 65-62 lead.
With Oilers out of timeouts, a quick inbound was made and Jimmy Enabu found Landry Ndikumana who hit a long 3-pointer to send the fans onto their feet and the game into overtime.
Overtime
Joseph Ikong scored from deep off a dribble to start overtime and there after Paul Odong took over to hand Power a memorable regular season double over City Oilers.
Makiadi paced Power with a game-high 25 points and 16 rebounds. Ikong added 18 points and 9 boards while Afidra contributed 11 points and Fahmy Ssebatindira assisted on 6 baskets.
Ndikumana had a team-high 17 points and 12 rebounds, James Okello netted 14 points while Enabu scored 10 points and handed out six assists.
