BAL Elite 16
Urunani 62-71 City Oilers
Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Sunday, November 27
City Oilers became the first Ugandan club to qualify for the Basketball Africa League after finishing 3rd in the Elite 16.
The 8-time record National basketball league defending champions took care of Burundi side Urunani 71-61 in the third-place playoff game played on Sunday in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Oilers dropped into the placement game after losing 69-75 to Cape Town in their semifinal match-up.
On Sunday, Mandy Juruni’s side led 17-12 after the first quarter but their lead was cut to just a point at halftime.
They however remained in character and held on to win by 9 points thanks to a double double of 20 points and 11 rebounds from Germaine Roeburg. Fayed Baale scored 12 points and added five rebounds and as many assists while Ngor Barnaba added 12 points.
The win is revenge best served for Oilers who lost to Urunani in the first phase of qualifiers (Road to BAL) 64-58 in Dar Es Salaam, last month.
The BAL, is Africa’s premier men’s basketball league, an equivalent of CAF Champions League in Football.
The league is a joint effort between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and International Basketball Federation (FIBA) with sponsorship from Nike, Air Jordan and Pepsi.
The final tournament next year in Kigali will attract 12 teams, with six coming from qualifiers while the other six are champions of Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia who qualify automatically.
