On December 22 last year, City Oilers officially announced Andrew Tendo Senyondwa as their new Head Coach, replacing Mandy Juruni to whom he had been an assistant.
Veteran guard Ben Komakech was named the assistant coach to Tendo but he would also maintain his playing role.
In an interview with Kawowo Sports, club president Mohamed Santur says continuity was important in choosing who would steer the club following Juruni’s departure.
“It was very important [to hire Tendo and Koma]. They know the culture of the club, they know how important it is for us to be successful. They are the fabric of the team.
“Instead of going out to get someone with a lot of experience who is very good, [we know] it still takes time to understand the club, the ambitions of the club and where we want to go. So in that regard, it was an easy choice for us to go with Coach Tendo and besides, we have been preparing him and now Koma will take his place.”
Since joining the National Basketball League a decade ago, City Oilers have played and won the last game of the season and Santur says the targets have not changed and has confidence in Tendo to be his own man and deliver.
“Coaches are different, they have different philosophies and he (Tendo) is his own man. We will encourage him to do whatever he sees fit and how he wants to run the club.
“We don’t want him to emulate Coach Mandy but be his own man and do his level best and we will support him to succeed.
“The demand is the same, he is sitting in the hot seat, there’s no excuses, we will support him and he has to perform. That one there’s no negotiation, results have to be there. That’s the goal and it has always been the goal in the league, we are as hungry as when we first came and we don’t look at what we have achieved. This is his time and we will support him.”
For a second season running, City Oilers will be competing in the Basketball Africa League. (BAL). The competition level in BAL is advanced and Santur says there will be some additions to the technical team to meet the demands as their target is set at the playoffs.
“Personally, I feel he is ready [for BAL] but we will get him some help. This time, we want to go to the playoffs.
“We were not very happy last year but everything is a process, we learn and there are some things that we will pass on to him and we are going get him some help like a video analyst because at that level you need a professional analyst who will dissect the game and possibly another coach to work along with him.”
As was last year, City Oilers are in the Nile Conference of BAL that will play in Cairo, Egypt from April 19-27 with the Playoffs to take place in Kigali, Rwanda from May 24 to June 1.
