City Oilers rally to defeat JT Jaguars 77–62, take 1–0 quarterfinal lead

Outscored 19-11 in the second quarter, the City Oilers went into the halftime break of their quarterfinal series opener against the JT Jaguars trailing 37-33.

At that point, it seemed as though all the fuss about Ched Bowie and Kurt Wegscheider had been for nought. Is this all they got? The doubters would have wondered of the two Oilers signings, who had caused no small commotion going into the National Basketball League playoffs.

Two quarters later, the Oilers were toasting to a 77-62 blowout and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three quarterfinal series against the Jaguars. Bowie and Wegscheider had not exactly set the house on fire, but they got the winning debut that left the 10-time champions one win away from reaching the semifinals. Game 2 is tomorrow at Lugogo.

Bowie went 5-for-12 from the field on the way to a game-high 13 points, while Wegscheider, who fouled out with 1:30 to play in the third quarter had 10 points. Fayed Bbaale scored 13 for the Oilers, who turned the close contest into a comfortable victory with a 21-7 third quarter.

The Jaguars had Ian Lubwama and Peter Sifuma contribute 13 points apiece, with the latter adding 12 rebounds. This game was played five days after its originally scheduled date due to a petition filed by the Jaguars and Namuwongo Blazers disputing the legality of the Bowie’s and Wegscheider’s transfers to the Oilers.

They lost the case, and the Oilers rubbed salt into injury with the win.

Today at Lugogo, the UCU Canons will be looking for a win to keep their series against the Kampala Rockets alive. The Rockets secured a one-point victory in Game 1 and will reach the semis if they get another win.

National Basketball League

Best-of-three quarterfinals

Game 1 results

Women: Jaguars 72 Miracle 58

(Jaguars win series 2-0)

Men: Oilers 77 Jaguars 62

(Oilers win 1-0)

Today, Game 2

Women: Stormers v KCCA (7pm)

Men: UCU v Rockets (9pm)