20 October 2013
UGANDA : Oilers want bigger fish to fry in basketball league
Charging Rhino is not the kind of team that will worry City Oilers that much as they clash in the penultimate fixture of the Airtel National Basketball League at the Lugogo MTN Arena today.
With the playoffs starting on Friday, former champions Rhino and newcomers Oilers will be shooting at different targets on the same floor.
After years of oscillating between the top tier and relegation, Rhino, champions 16 years ago, will feel that finishing this season is a sign of stability for years to come. Not many expect them to make a run deep into the playoffs but their opponents, top seeded DMark Power, cannot take them too lightly.
A fortnight ago, Rhino pushed Power to the limit before losing 57-54. However, Rhino will know a three-game quarterfinal series against the five-champions will be a different prospect. On the other hand, Oilers have real title ambitions. “I am very confident that we can compete with the best teams,” Oilers’ coach Mandy Juruni, a champion with Warriors last season, said.
“We have seen it with the two rounds we have played.” Many would easily write off Juruni’s talk of a deep run into the postseason mainly because his team seems thin on quality. They are heavily dependent on Congolese-born Rwandese centre Kami Kabangu with guard Jimmy Enabu as his side-kick.
# posted by afrbk : 16:07
