17 May 2013
UGANDA : Oilers at full strength for Falcons tie
City Oilers’ Steven Okello (R) tries to find a way past Power skipper Isaac Afidra in the men’s topflight league opener. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA We surely haven’t seen the best of the much-debated City Oilers. Neither have we seen the best of Falcons. This is mainly because they haven’t put their best team on the floor yet.
Tonight at Lugogo, they both could field their best sides as they meet for the first time in the Airtel Basketball League. Division Two champions City Oilers didn’t have big men Ramadhan Arou and Kami Kabange as their clearances had not come through.
Both missed the opener which they lost to five-time champions DMark Power 68-65. Arou was cleared in time for the 102-44 rout of Miracle Eagles, scoring a game-high 26 points.
“Kami will play for us for the first time,” coach Mandy Juruni, who joined from champions Warriors in the off-season, told Daily Monitor. The Rwandese centre will be facing his former employers as he played for record champions Falcons three years ago.
“He adds a lot. He is an all-round big man who can play away from the paint. He has a very good understanding of the game and also runs the floor,” Juruni added. Like has been the norm in recent years, Falcons grow their team with time.
Tanzanian guard Abdullahi Ramadhan (Dulah) and Kenyan centre Philip Ameny are back and Falcons’ thin squad must feel relieved. “I am here again to play for the title, as usual,” Dulah, in his typical dismissive style, said.
The pair, part of the Falcons who reached the finals last year, for the first time since 2008, returned this week and their presence despite the obvious unfitness should help.
The pair, part of the Falcons who reached the finals last year, for the first time since 2008, returned this week and their presence despite the obvious unfitness should help.
# posted by afrbk : 18:52
