Basketball Africa League

Result

Al Ahly Libya 79 Oilers 68

When the NBA decided to establish the Basketball Africa League (BAL), they had a clear understanding of its potential.

 Basketball enjoys continental appeal, crossing language and cultural barriers. The NBA understood that if the tournament made inroads in the mega markets of Cairo, Lagos and Johannesburg, it would take off.

But there were plenty of questions on the table too. How do you overcome the financial and infrastructural difficulties that plague much of African basketball?

Five years and four editions forward, the roadmap to success looks promising. But what slice of that future belongs to Uganda’s basketball giants City Oilers?

 The Oilers are 0-3 to start their second appearance in BAL here in Egypt, and given how much hope they had coming into the tournament, the flat performances against Al Ahly, Bangui SC and Al Ahly Benghazi  have left indelible disappointment.

“We need to go back to the drawing board,” Oilers director Ahmed Hassan told New Vision Sport, making a startling admission after the Oilers second loss. 

“BAL has become so competitive, you have to invest heavily to succeed.”

Defending champions Al Ahly pay their coach Augusti Julbe $30,000, and often as much to their top players. That is on a monthly basis, all season long. Al Ahly Libya, who are making their debut this season, are using the same template. The Oilers, on the other hand, pay much less to their highest earners, who are added to the squad just for the BAL qualifiers and the tournaments.

That is a recipe for frustration, which piled up yesterday with the Oilers’ third straight defeat in the Nile Conference. Al Ahly Benghazi barely broke sweat on the way to a 79-68 victory that pushed the Ugandan champions closer to elimination.

Patrick Rembert led the Oilers with a game-high 17 points, while youngster Khaman Maluach grabbed 16 points and 19 rebounds. Robinson Opong and Mohammed Bashir contributed 11 points apiece for the Oilers, who trailed 25-11 after the first quarter and 50-24 at halftime.

Karim Nesba’s team fought back in the second half, with Fayed Bbaale making his first appearance count with some pesky defence on Al Ahly’s Souleyman Diabate.

“I should have played Bbaale more,” admitted Oilers coach Nesba.

The Oilers return to action tomorrow against defending champions Al Ahly, a game with little prospects of victory.

“We will not give up until the end,” responded Nesba.