Rarely do coaches celebrate when their teams have lost matches especially against direct rivals.
And you would wonder why City Oilers’ Mandy Juruni was happy after KIU Titans subjected the three time league winners to their first loss of the season after 14 straight wins.
Oilers lost 70-67 against a side that went to the market before the start of the season wanting to put up a challenge.
Oilers Jimmy Enabu had a game high 23 points while Chris Omanye managed 21 for the Kansanga side.
“This game win or lose had nothing to do with our work plan, teams always work to come out and beat City Oilers. KIU has been successful but the result has no bearing on our season,” said Oilers’ coach Mandy Juruni.
“I am glad the unbeaten run is out of the way before it got to the players’ heads, we played well but congratulations to KIU who came out strong,” the soft spoken coach added.
On the same night, three time MVP Ben Komakech made a return after staying out for eight months nursing a knee injury.