Basketball in Africa

History has been made and in an unprecedented fashion, manner, form and style. Sensational LPRC Oilers are the newest triple champions in Liberian sports history.
The conquering basketball squad of Oilers Sports Association won the Liberia Basketball Association (LBA) national league in sensational fashion for the third year in a row.
But Oilers, who were backed by their workforce in an all 'gold and black,' needed a bucket of sweat to beat NPA Pythons by 59 to 51 points in game three of their best out of five series on August 9.
There was an elaborate celebration before the match with managing director T. Nelson Williams, II lifting everyone.
A live music band was on hand to make the party grand as Oilers contained Pythons, who provided some flashes of their deadly abilities.
"We are certain of victory. The Oilers will siphon the snake and there will be no come back for our opponents," Williams told reporters before kick-off.
Few teams like Mighty Barrolle, Pythons, C-Delta and rivals K-Delta have been strengthened with a foreign player or two but the Oil Boys relied on an array of local stars. And Williams was pleased that head coach Paul Houlsen stuck with the local guns during their championship march.
"We have an international coach who has shown commitment in training our players, and we are on top of our game. "We are ready to go international to compete with clubs in Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, etc," Williams noted.
The elegant Peter Bimah, explosive Jethro Bing and the rest of the playing party made life difficult for Pythons on a cozy night.
Comptroller Elizabeth Matu Tubman, marketing manager Charles D. Sherman, II and management information system manager John Momolu Dukuly found time in their busy schedules to cheer Oilers to victory.
It was an electrifying atmosphere with ecstatic supporters singing in a spirited manner as Oilers annihilated Pythons for the third time in a row to emerge as triple champions.
But pundits will eagerly be waiting to see whether Oilers can reproduce their performances on the international stage when they fly the Liberian flag at regional or continental level.
As always, only time will tell.