Basketball in Africa

M: City Oilers 73-75 Gezira
W: Berco Stars 63-52 KCCA Leopards
Following last year’s heroics that saw them finish third, City Oilers went into the 2015 Zone V Club Championships as one of the favourites – and so was the case as they made the finals unbeaten on the second asking at the regional meet.
After ran through the groups, City Oilers saw off local rivals Power to make the finals with Gezira who saw off hosts Espoir.
With the backing of the local fans and playing their best ever basketball, Oilers made sure the game was an epic one.
Entering the game as outright underdogs and the pressure on their opponents, the Oilers opened the with a 7-2 run before Gezira responded with a 15-7 run in the final five minutes of the opening quarter to edge it 17-14.
A strong offensive and defensive display from the Oilers has them go into the halftime break up by 10 points (39-29). The Oilers clung on to the lead to the final quarter much as it had been trimmed to 3 points by the Egyptians.
Gezira took the lead inside two minutes in the final quarter but were never far ahead – in fact Oilers drew level at 73 with under 2 minutes to play before Gezira went ahead.
Jimmy Enabu (18 points) who had an outstanding tournament had a chance to draw Oilers level but his last attempt on the drive was missed following a foul that was waived and the Egyptians picked rebound. Time expired as Gezira crossed the ball over the center.
Kami Kabange scored team high 23 points for Oilers. Samuel Kalwanyi scored 9 points to go with 11 boards while last year’s MVP Landry Ndikumana contributed 9 points and picked 8 rebounds.
Despite losing the finals, the Oilers made it to the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup due in December in Angola.
Meanwhile, Uganda’s women representative at the week-long event KCCA Leopards also made the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup due in November in Angola.
KCCA lost the final round-robin and also winner-takes-it all game to Berco Stars 63-52 but had cemented their place at the continental meet after their victory over last year’s champions USIU.