Uganda’s National Basketball League Champions City Oilers have announced roster for the Basketball Africa League Elite 16 round.
Team captain James Okello, guard Tonny Drilleba, Ivan Muhwezi, Fayed Bbaale, Titus Lual, Edrine Walujjo, and rookie Allawi Ssenkubuge made the squad but senior players like Jimmy Enabu, Luak Ruai and Ben Komakech were omitted.
The local contingent is joined by Robinson Opong, Germain Roebuck Junior, Brandon Ssebirumbi, Dane Miller Junior, and Parish Petty.
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City Oilers will compete in Group B, which features Mozambique’s Ferroviario da Beira, Madagascar’s COSPN, and Zimbabwe’s JBC.
The Oilers competed in the 2023 final tournament of the BAL but did not go beyond the group stages. Their head coach Mandy Juruni, however, insists their performance was worth it considering it was their debut appearance at such stage.
"I thought we competed well in the tournament for our first time. We had two top teams in the BAL tournament playing against us and we lost close games against such teams," Juruni told FIBA in an interview.
As they head out to South Africa for yet another shot at the Final 12, the goal is to sail through and correct their shortcomings in the BAL proper.
"Overall we looked at our performances and looked at areas where we needed to get better and that has influenced a lot on signing players for these qualifiers and hopefully the Final 12," the tactician said.
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Speaking to Ugandan publication Daily Monitor, Juruni said, "We have to build the club to start dominating at continental level."
Currently, the qualifying phase is in its final stages and all eyes are now on Johannesburg, the host city of the East Division Elite 16 qualifier, where eight teams will be vying for three tickets up for grabs.
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In what turns out as the final round of the qualifiers, the South African city serves as the last stop for the qualifiers which are due from November 21-26. You lose it, then it will be a ‘see you next season.’