Sudi Ulanga sinks City Oil

By Charles Mutebi

THE UCU Canons were scary with an out-form Sudi Ulanga. With the real Ulanga, they might just become unstoppable. Just ask City Oil. 

Ulanga dropped a game-high 29 points, outscoring the entire City Oil team 24-23 in the first half, and UCU turned what was expected to be a tight contest in the Airtel National Basketball (ANBL) into a 79-59 blowout. 

Previously, City Oil’s heaviest loss was by seven points, also to UCU, so this was probably a bad day at office for Mandy Juruni’s side. 

Still, this match might have shown how good UCU will be if Ulanga’s scoring form improves in the second round of the regular season. 

Ulanga’s offense struggled mightily in the first round, due in part to the addition of Cyrus Kiviri to UCU’s backcourt. 

Ulanga averaged three points in UCU’s last two games, which they both lost, prompting coach Nick Natuhereza to admit that he had to find a way to rectify the situation. 

Natuhereza ensured that his star got plenty of touches against City Oil, designing multiple picks specifically to set him free. 

And Ulanga did not disappoint, going 5-15 from three-point range, 3-4 on two-point field goals and 8-8 from the line. 

“Now I am back,” Ulanga (who said he has been down with malaria and stomach ulcers) warned after the match. 

Ivan Lumanyika grabbed 14 points and 10 rebounds for UCU while Sunday Okot made 12 points. Kami Kabange led City Oil with 17 points, with James Okello, Ramadan Arur and Jimmy Enabu adding 14, 11 and 10 points respectively. 

Both teams are back in action today against relegation-threatened teams, with UCU facing Miracle and City Oil facing Vegetarian.