NAIROBI (Kenya) – Urunani, for the second time in the Elite 16 of the Eastern Division, brushed aside the City Oilers of Uganda to finish in third place.
In a match where the Ugandans came back from a slow first quarter to take a commanding lead in the second half, they failed to hold on, losing by the narrowest of margins in a spectacle 77-75.
The Oilers led 13-11 in the first five minutes, but the Burundians took over to lead 26-18. A second quarter to forget for Urunani saw Parrish Petty lead his troops with a 25-8 run while keeping the opponent scoreless for five minutes.
The City Oilers went into the break with a 43-34 advantage.
Urunani, however, turned things around in the third quarter, launching into a series to come back to a basket from Andrew Tendo’s charges in the first half of the period, before leading by two points at the start of the last period.
The final quarter was dramatic, with both teams battling for third place in the East, with Urunani winning.
THE TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH: A 19-0 run in the second quarter for Andrew Tendo’s Oilers turned the game on its head, leaving the Burundians chasing a game they had dominated in the first quarter. Urunani fought back to tie things up at 50, then 56, before taking a 58-56 lead at the end of the third quarter, returning them to their group stage hopes.
Mamadou Pabi Gueye’s men led 69-61 in the first five minutes, but the Oilers, who lost Titus Odeke and Germaine Roebuck Jr to injury in the semi-final, came back to turn the match into a seesaw game on the final straight, Urunani hanging on to take the victory.
HEROES: Marcus Christopher Crawford’s three-pointer, his fourth of the game, sealed the victory for Urunani with three seconds remaining in a game that could have ended either way. He finished with 20 points. Mohamed Doumbya also made his contribution with a double-double (13 points and 14 rebounds).
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: The City Oilers’ 17 turnovers allowed Urunani to lead 21-13, but it was in the paint that the Burundians did the work, with a score of 40-28. Their bench also beat the opponent’s bench 31-7.
CONCLUSION : The Oilers are eliminated, for the first time since their 2023 BAL debut, while Urunani finished their campaign in the Elite 16 of the Eastern Division with a score of 7-1. The victory over City Oilers came in response to a team that had a flawless campaign until losing to Kriol Star in the semi-final.
THEY SAID: “It was a close-margined match, played to zero points within a few seconds, but there had to be a loser. I am proud of my players though. We lost two key players before this match and the “The team on the field rose to the occasion.” City Oilers head coach Andrew Tendo.
“The Basketball gods were on their side tonight. The game came down to the last shot, a tough shot, but Urunani had the confidence to take it. We did everything we could throughout the game , we played hard, we came very close to victory and it hurts.” Falando Cortez Jones, Oilers winger.
“It was a good game, but we had to push ourselves to win. If we are lucky enough to qualify for the BAL, we will change a lot of things in our team” Mohamed Doumbya, ailier d’Urunani.
FIBA
