Friday Results | YMCA
- Nam Blazers 70-47 Our Saviour
- Power 82-75 City Oilers
Saturday Fixtures | YMCA
- Ndejje Angels vs. Victoria University – 10am
- KCCA Panthers vs. JKL Dolphins -12noon
- KIU Titans vs. Our Saviour – 2:00pm
- Nam Blazers vs. Tropical Royals – 4:00pm
- UCU Canons vs. Falcons – 6:00pm
The regular season of the 2022 Tusker Lite National Basketball League has registered several unexpected and shocking results.
And on Friday night at YMCA, Power Basketball Club got the better of City Oilers, handing the defending champions their fifth loss of the season.
The 3-2 zone that Power used for the majority of the second half troubled City Oilers as it became difficult for their guards to take off uncontested three-point shots despite their, more often than not, good ball movement.
The small size of the YMCA Court favours drives to the hole and both sides did just that for large parts of the game. The opening quarter ended all square at 17 but the Oilers (18-5) slowly pulled away in the second quarter to lead by 4 points (39-35) at the halftime break.
Geoffrey Soro and Francis Kasinde quickly erased the deficit at the start of the third quarter and Power switched up on the defensive end going for the 3-2 zone that allowed Oilers just a single 3-pointer in the quarter, a corner trey from Tony Drileba. At the offensive end, Power (15-8) remained productive with Innocent Ochera and Isaac Afidra delivering the bulk of the 25 points.
Oilers who trailed by 3 points at the start of the fourth wiped out the deficit and took the lead on Jimmy Enabu’s pull-up jumper from the top of the mountain. However, Power remained disciplined and kept faith in their zone defense that forced the Oilers to jack up 3-pointers.
Ochera finished with 16 points to lead Power while Afidra, Dickson Asiku, and Soro added 12 points each. Stephen Otoa had 6 valuable points in the final quarter.
Francis Azolibe scored a game-high 26 points to go with 11 rebounds in a losing effort. Ceasar Kizito (16) and Enabu (12) were the other Oilers who scored in double figures.
Earlier, Nam Blazers eased past our Savior behind Ariel Okall’s season-high 27 points and 15 boards. Kenneth Wachira added 12 points.
Moses Mugisha (13 points & 10 rebounds) and Davis Asimwe (11 points) scored in double digits for Our Savior.