Namuwongo Blazers wiped the floor with City Oilers in the fourth quarter of the marque National Basketball League game to win 60-54 and condemn the champions to their first defeat of the season.
Led by Joseph Chuma, Paul Odongo and Peter Cheng, the Blazers brought the fight to the Oilers and despite trailing for the larger part of the game, finished strong to end the fans into wild celebrations.
Stephen Nyeko’s charges had relied on Chuma’s jumpers to stay within touching distance in the first half. The former Oiler, limited by foul trouble in the second half, short seven for 12 from the field on the way to a game high 18 points.
Titus Lual had drained threes to give Oilers early offence as they led 36-28 at the half but it was the Blazers who came back from the locker room stronger for the win.
As Chuma watched on from the bench, team captain Odongo and Cheng took matters into their own hands. The two attacked the basket to draw fouls and punish City Oilers from the free throw line.
Odong and Cheng shot four for seven and five for eight respectively from the charity line as the Blazers outscored City Oilers 32-18 to show their title credentials.
Odong would end the game with 12 points and seven rebounds while Cheng got a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Things fall apart
City Oilers head coach Andrew Tendo attributed the defeat to fatigue amongst his key players, who were with the Silverbacks side that competed in the first window of the Fiba Afrobasket Qualifiers in Monastir, Tunisia.
‘We are a better team than this and we’ll bounce back,’ Tendo said in the aftermath of his first defeat as Oilers head coach.
Lual, Tonny Drileba, Ivan Muhwezi and Fayed Baale are the players who represented Uganda and all struggled to impress on the night as things fell apart for the nine-time champions.
Only Lual (13) and Mer Maker (11) managed to score in double figures for an Oilers side that was outrebounded 58-44.
The Blazers picked up the momentum in the fourth quarter and not even the delay caused by a cup of beer thrown onto the floor by an excited fan could stop the bleeding.
National Basketball League
Results
Women
JKL 75-68 UCU L. Canons
A1 Challenge 57-43 Kampala University
Stormers 62-4 UPDF
Men
Nam Blazers 60-54 City Oilers
Ndejje 61-73 JKL
UCU Canons 65-69 KCCA