Even when not playing well, they always find a way to win especially when it matters. That is the mark of a champion that City Oilers are.
The seven-time National Basketball League champions stepped on the gas pedal in the fourth quarter to beat Nam Blazers, 60-53, in the finals opener on Wednesday night.
The game played in front of a capacity crowd at Lugogo Indoor Stadium was not smooth on the eye but it abundantly proved that Ben Komakech still has ice running through his veins and Tony Drileba is probably the best there is in the league at the moment.
Drileba (13 points & 10 rebounds) and Komakech (10 points, 6 assists & 4 steals) combined to dig the Oilers out of a 10-point hole in the third quarter and deliver a 9-point victory. Mer Maker came in handy with 12 points, half of which came in the decisive fourth quarter.
Oilers scored four unanswered points to start the game but Blazers, backed by the fans whose raucousness increased as the game swung in their favour, found a response and had their noses in front at the end of the opening ten minutes thanks to Daniel Jjuuko’s long 3-pointer at the horn.
The second quarter was as close a contest as the first and Blazers against close the scoring at the half with Chris Omanye banking a floater to a 29-26 lead. The third quarter was even better for Blazer as they opened a 10-point lead four minutes in but Oilers fought back to trail by a couple of points before Paul Odong made it a 5-point game (45-40) with a trey to close the period.
Oilers erased the deficit with a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter before Omanye who finished with a game-high 14 points got Namuwongo on the board with a triple. Oilers then went on another run, this time scoring 10 unanswered points forcing Blazers who were going through a scoring drought into a timeout with just over three minutes to play.
On return, Amisi Saidi (12 points & 7 rebounds) hit a jumper but Oilers had enough awareness to slow down the game, run the time, and open lanes for Jimmy Enabu and James Okello to secure victory.
Game 2 of the series will be played on Friday night on the same floor.
