Tendo Oilers' era ends as Juruni returns
Tendo has been replaced by the man he succeeded three years ago, Mandy Juruni, who returns after a spell in Rwanda.
Andrew Tendo. Courtesy photo
Andrew Tendo’s first season as City Oilers coach began with doubters and an exodus of three club legends. It ended with defeat in the NBL Finals to the Namuwongo Blazers for a second consecutive season.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but we had to let him go,” a club official told New Vision Sports.
“It was very emotional because we were with Capi for 19 years, but we had to let him go. The standards of the club had slipped.”
For the Oilers, letting go of one of the club’s true legends, someone who went from founding player to assistant coach to head coach, was “a difficult decision, but you know change is inevitable," says the official.
The Oilers won their first 10 Finals in an unprecedented show of dominance, with the last of the championships won by Tendo in 2024.
In fact, the Oilers nearly missed the playoffs before going on deep into the postseason.
This season, the Oilers were much better and pushed Namuwongo all the way to overtime of Game 7 in the Finals.
But in failing to see off the Blazers, the Oilers were always going to reconsider Tendo’s status. And the final call was that a new leader was needed, a leader who turned out to be very familiar.