City Oilers head coach Mandy Juruni noted that his troops lacked unity and chemistry in the game against Madagascar’s COSPN as the Road to BAL East Division tournament got underway on Tuesday.
The Oilers kickstarted the journey on the front foot after seeing off COSPN in an 81-76 victory at Ellis Park Arena, Johannesburg in South Africa.
In his post-match reaction, Juruni was quick to highlight the lack of unity as a challenge which will be nullified as the team plays more games.
“We started flat because we had not played a competitive game together and obviously some guys just joined us to prepare for this tournament,” Juruni revealed.
“It was a tough game, especially in the first half. We were flat, especially on the defensive end but in the second half we changed that and started [to play] some good defence that got us into transition,” he added.
Going into the long break, the Oilers were down by 12 points (41-29) but their fight and better defence in the second half eventually earned them a slim victory.
“There was lack of unity to play both defence and offence. But once we kept working we managed to adjust and the second half was way different.”
The Oilers have to get better
Before the second game of the tournament, the Oilers need to improve so they find a way of staging a better defence. At this level, there is no margin for error.
“We are now happy that we won that first game because COSPN is not an easy team. We now focus on the next game and it’s an opportunity for us to be better.
“I am sure that we will get better. Hopefully, we win that game which will take us to the semifinals. So we all know how important the game is,” he concluded.
Dane Miller Jr., Parrish Petty, and Robin Opong each scored double digits. Miller led the way with a game-high 26 points while Petty and Opong chipped in with 16.
City continues to fight for a ticket to BAL as they take on JBC from Zimbabwe at 12:00 noon (EAT). A win today will eventually earn them a spot in the semifinals.
