Namuwongo Blazers could make history tonight by becoming the only team to ever outsmart City Oilers in a National Basketball League series. Since their promotion to the top flight in 2013, Oilers have never lost a series and have gone on to win 10 titles in a row.
But all that can end on Wednesday.
The Blazers lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 and are 40 basketball minutes away from league glory. Dominant in the last three games, Stephen Nyeko’s charges managed to get themselves out of a two-game deficit and into the lead.
They now have the momentum and the crowd behind them to end Oilers’ supremacy. And if they did not have the know-how to win the title in 2022, they have since added that to their roster, with the arrival of four former Oilers stars.
Tonny Drileba’s return from injury brought calm and composure into the team, helping the side manage and close games late in the fourth quarter.
Must win
Andrew Tendo’s charges have struggled to beat the Blazers’ defence in the last three games, with Chad Bowie and Kurt Wegscheider greatly limited. The Blazers now have it in their hands and can close the contest and start celebrations.
Drileba, Jimmy Enabu, James Okello and Ivan Muhwezi formed the formidable Oilers team that dominated Ugandan basketball for a decade.
The quartet is now in the red of Blazers and cannot wait to get one over their former paymasters, with whom they separated unceremoniously.
Okello had his best performance of the finals in Game Five, scoring 17 points and collecting eight rebounds as the Blazers won 71-68 to put one hand on the trophy.
Enabu and Muhwezi have also had their moments in the series. Their championship mentality and leadership will be key in Game Six.
What’s left for Oilers?
That the Oilers are in the final after the dismal regular season they had is some sort of miracle itself. But the record champions know how to win and cannot be written off until the title has been handed over.
The poor form of captain Titus Lual and Fayed Baale has played a big part in the team’s struggles in the series.
Lual has had to come off the bench since returning from injury while Baale lost his place in the starting line up of Game Five following multiple lowkey performances.
Will the two show up to take the burden off Bowie and Wegscheider in Game Six? They have the capacity and now have their backs against the wall.
Veteran Ben Komakech, Moses Maker, Joseph Chuma and Edgar Munaba are the other key pieces that must shine for Oilers to stay alive and force a Game Seven.
The Blazers will know that losing Game Six and handing the momentum to a perennial winner like Oilers could prove costly in Game Seven.
National Basketball League
Finals – Men
Game Six
Wednesday, Lugogo
City Oilers vs. Nam Blazers, 7pm