The second unit contributed just two points off the bench in one of the worst performances by the eight-time National Basketball League champions.
City Oilers head coach Mandy Juruni could not believe his team’s lack of effort in their 96-68 loss to Guinea’s SLAC Tuesday evening.
The Ugandan champions were battered in Cairo, Egypt, to stay bottom of the Nile Conference with a dismal 0-3 record.
Midway through the fourth quarter, with SLAC maintaining a 28-point advantage, Juruni conceded and took to his seat in disbelief as his side failed to get stops in a must-win clash.
17:53 - 02.05.2023
BAL City Oilers staring Basketball Africa League elimination in the face after battering by SLAC
James Okello’s two free throws were the only bench points registered by the team.
“We just didn’t compete well enough,” Juruni said after the game.
“There were so many layups given away, so many assists, the fight in us was low, the togetherness on the court even worse.
“All that contributed. If you come and play these games, these teams, you have to be mentally and physically ready. I thought we were not mentally and physically ready to play this game.”
Mandy Juruni’s side were simply outclassed by a hungrier SLAC side that got out of the blocks early to lead 24-13 after the first quarter.
SLAC was dominant and took the second quarter 20-12 to lead by 19 points (44-25) going into the halftime break.
Zeljko Zecevic’s charges conducted a scoring clinic in the third frame, pouring in 33 and limiting the Oilers to 24 to lead 77-49 by 28 with 10 minutes to play.
The Oilers had some shots falling in the fourth frame, but it was a little too late, and they succumbed to a 28-point blowout defeat.
Having lost the first two games to Petro de Luanda and Al Ahly, Oilers went into the SLAC encounter well aware of how vital victory would be and the ramifications of defeat.
“They (SLAC) scored very many points in the paint, we had 20 turnovers, and they scored 19 points off of that; they scored so many uncontested shots,” Juruni emphasized.
James Justice Jr. and Falando Jones combined for 50 points, while the rest of the team only added 18.
Justice Jr. poured in a game-high 30 points, while Jones added 20.
The second unit contributed just two points off the bench in one of the worst performances by the eight-time National Basketball League champions.
“There is a lot that we didn’t do today that I think we can learn from and just be better in the next games.
“We have to show how tough we are. We have two must-win games, and we believe in this team; we believe we can be a better team.
“We want to learn from this, go back to the hotel and prepare ourselves mentally and physically for the next games.”
The next test for Oilers will be against Ferroviario da Beira and Cape Town Tigers.
There is no more room for error if Juruni and his charges are going to have any chance of making the top four.
Any other defeat will automatically rule the Oilers out of contention for a ticket to the playoffs in Kigali, Rwanda.
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