UCU, Oilers faceoff in National Basketball League
Apr 17, 2015
The rivalry between the City Oilers and UCU Canons is still intense. It remains to be seen whether their encounters this season will be as competitive as last year.
By Charles Mutebi
Airtel National Basketball League
Results
Warriors 81 Diamonds 66
Our Saviour 57 KIU 69
Friday, YMCA
Women: Stormers v UCU
Men: UCU v Oilers
The rivalry between the City Oilers and UCU Canons is still intense. It remains to be seen whether their encounters this season will be as competitive as last year.
The Canons meet the Oilers in the Airtel National Basketball League (ANBL) in the latest instalment of a relationship that has always been fractured. The Oilers won the last affair – a best-of-five semi-final playoffs series that saw UCU take a 2-0 lead before collapsing.
But a lot has changed since that series. Not only did Mandy Juruni's Oilers go on to retain their title, the Canons have lost three crucial players from last season's line-up, namely Sudi Ulanga, Sunday Okot and Desmond Owili, who nonetheless missed all but three weeks of UCU's season.
The Oilers have strengthened their outfit with Tony Drileba and Ladry Nadikumuna although superstar point guard Ben Komakech is still recovering from knee surgery. Nick Natuhereza's Canons will be underdogs but then they own a 6-3 record against the Oilers.
In the women's ANBL, the Magic Stormers and UCU Lady Canons clash in a rematch of last year's playoffs semi-finals, which the latter won 3-1.
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