Wednesday, September 14 (YMCA)
•KIU Rangers Vs UCU Lady Canons – 6:30pm
•City Oilers Vs UCU Canons – 8:30pm
UCU Canons have all to play for when they meet City Oilers in game two of the ongoing NBL Playoffs at YMCA.
The Canons find themselves trailing the best of five semifinal series, 1-0, after losing the opener 72-64 on Sunday.
Oilers were not at their absolute best but did just enough to clinch the needed win.
And UCU could not be faulted to a large extent for that loss, it was Oilers being Oilers – and that speaks volumes for a side that has won the title for the last seven seasons.
No one has come close to breaking that dominance other than Coach Nicholas Natuhereza after UCU forcing the Oilers twice to game sevens in 2015 and 2019.
And with the sides renewing their acquaintances at the semis, Natuhereza and his charges will be hoping to get their revenge.
UCU’s two best players in Fayed Baale (18) and Titus Lual (19) came to the part in game one with double digits in scoring, but the same cannot be said of the rest of the group.
Sudi Ulanga and Jerry Kayanga had two points each while Fadhil Chuma had only 3 as UCU picked 12 points off the bench against Oilers’ 35.
UCU might have tried to figure out what went wrong from that Sunday game, but it’s very difficult to identify loopholes in this Oilers team.
A woefully thin roster has been Oilers biggest undoing, and an injury to Ivan Lumanyika has left them bare while Luak Ruai is yet to feature in post season.
James Okello was unstoppable until he was fouled out, but the other two usual suspects in Jimmy Enabu and Tonny Drilleba did not impact the game as they would have wanted.
But in Ceaser Kizito came an unlikely hero who managed 13 points, and many teams have learnt it the hard way when facing Oilers that whoever the defense ignores tends to fire away.
It will take something special to unlock the Oilers, but if there is anyone who can, this UCU side has got the key.
