NAIROBI (Kenya) – It was a match of two parts, Uganda's City Oilers and Burundi's Urunani renewed their rivalry in the Elite 16 Eastern Division. The match ended with a victory for Urunani 78-75 in overtime.
Parrish Petty made 5 of 9 shots from behind the arc in the City Oilers' first half against rivals Urunani for 17 points, leading his team to a 41-26 first half, but the latter overturned the match to force overtime and continue to win and stay perfect in Group B.
The match was a repeat of the 2022 semi-final at this same level and Urunani achieved what he couldn't do two years ago, sweet revenge as the Burundians head to the semi-finals , so important.
Andrew Tendo's men dominated the quarters 20-13 and 21-13, increasing their advantage to 20 with a 13-8 series in the first minutes of the third quarter (54-34).
Jean-Jacques Boissy, who had scored only 7 points in the first half, made two consecutive three-pointers to cut the deficit to 12. Malick Genzahayo scored at the buzzer to close the third period at 60-50. The next 10 minutes belonged to the Burundi champions, forcing overtime.
THE TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH: A fourth quarter at 17-7 for Urunani, which saw Genzahayo rise to 10 and Marcus Christopher Crawford, who had had a quiet game, score a three-point basket, made all the difference for Mamadou's players Pabi Gueye. Petty showed up on the line for an opportunity to give the Oilers the lead again, missing once to tie the game at 67 for overtime. An 11-8 run sealed the victory.
The Oilers lost their main centers, Israel Otobo and Maker Mer, before overtime and their absence was felt: the former led the team's defense with 21 rebounds, completing his double-double with 11 points.
HEROES: The 10 points of Genzahayo, who replaced Boissy, released for accumulation of fouls, in the last quarter, allowed Urunani to return to the match in the last period and win it while they were trailing by 22 points at the start of the meeting.
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: The Oilers may have dominated the paint 34-26, while Urunani was quicker on the counter-attacks (30-17), but the difference could have come from the free throw line. The Burundi champions were almost perfect, missing only four of their 24 shots. The Oilers made 17 of 28, missing 11.
CONCLUSION : Both teams are qualified for the final four and while Urunani writes its history, the Oilers are aiming for their third qualification for the BAL.
THEY SAID: “We had a good start, but they played a more aggressive second half. A few mistakes in the crucial moments of the last quarter of an hour made us lose ground, as they took the opportunity to punish us. The loss of two key players due to fouls in such a match also had an impact In the semi-final, we will have to be more clinical, more aggressive and make better decisions in key moments to secure a place in the BAL. Titus Odeke, Oilers winger.
“We believed in ourselves despite a slow start and fought to win. They started strong and it took us a little time to adapt. Going into the semi-finals, we will bring the same energy and we will get on with it. We'll stick to our game plan.” Landry Ndikumana, captain of Urunani.
FIBA
Related News :