The stage is set this evening in Dar es Salaam, at the Basketball Africa League Round I qualifiers, for the epic showdown between Zone 5 rivals City Oilers (Uganda) and Patriots (Rwanda). It’s the super game of the qualifiers in Dar es Salaam given both teams are unbeaten at the NBA/FIBA event and have already booked qualification to the next BAL round. This game will decide which team finishes top of the BAL East Division’s Group D which stringed teams including Hawassa (Ethiopia), Dynamo BBC (Burundi) and hosts JKT.
Makiadi, Blakeney and Gasana of Patriots
The Oilers have the head to head advantage against Patriots, with the last two meetings in October 2017 at FIBA Africa Championship qualifiers going 77-73, and 86-59 both in favor of the Oilers. But the Patroits have greatly improved since then and just a few weeks ago clinched the Rwandan National Basketball League title. Patriots have also been boosted by the addition of Kenneth Gasana and George Blakeney. Equally, the Oilers have the services of Jordin Mayes and shooting guard Opong Robinson.
Statistically, the Patriots go into this game with a better shooting percentage on the three ball. (35.2 percent as compared to 26.5 percent of the Oilers).
“It is a competition between one team from Uganda and another from Rwanda and both teams are ambitious. There are no personal feelings. The last five years have seen good competition between Uganda and Rwanda at both country and club levels. There is a rivalry every time we meet. It will always be a good game and competitive because we always want to beat each other,” – Coach Juruni (Oilers)
Players to look out for:
Patriots: Ally Ruzigande, Kenny Gasana, Michael Ongesa, Michael Makiadi, Aristide Mugabe, George Blakeney
City Oilers: Robinson Opong, Jordin Mayes, Laundry Ndikumana, Tony Drileba, James Okello
Game Time: 1730 hrs
Watch Live —>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BVfEVUS-xU
Must See
