KIU Titans on mission to tie series: NBL Finals Game 2 Preview

The KIU Titans aim to overturn their losing streak against the City Oilers in the Game 2. A lot of players will need to up their game if the Titans are to cause problems for the defending Champions.

Avitus Ngabirano

August 30, 2024

3–5 minutes

city oilers, KIU Titans, National Basketball League, NBL Finals 2024

The KIU Titans have yet to win a game against the City Oilers in the 3 times they have met this season but they will be out to change the status quo when the 2 teams meet for game 2 on Friday 30th at Lugogo Indoor Arena.

The Titans trailed by as many as 11 in game one and many had written them off but they managed to crawl back into the game, taking the lead with less than a minute left in the third quarter.

That is what most of the Titans players will be focusing on. The ability to stay alive and strike when opportunity arises.

Injuries/ fatigue

The KIU Titans looked a bit beaten up after game five against the Namuwongo Blazers compared to City Oilers who seemed fresher having had more time to recover.

Tembo got off injured in the second quarter and whereas Joel Lukoji went off momentarily, he was able to come back in the game and was their anchor offensively.

Other players like Mpiya Juf and Edgar Munaba did not perform up to Standard and one of the factors pointed out is that tiredness from the semifinal series against Namuwongo Blazers.

Edgar and Juf need to produce for the Titans at whatever cost because without their input, it will be very difficult to get a win against City Oilers.

Stopping Parrish

All the 4 3-point shots that Petty Parrish scored were off the dribble. He tried to beat the defenders with handles and when they didn’t budge, he opted for that shot and he was mostly successful.

KIU needs to find a solution to that because on 2 different occasions, Petty carried City Oilers’ offense and that kept them afloat.

Putting a player like Brian Opio to defend him seems one of the best alternatives but they’d have to tweak a lot to accommodate him.

That has got to be one of the biggest headaches for coach Julius Lutwama because Tembo hasn’t played very well defensively and he was injured the previous game. How long can he feature in this game, and what kind of output will he give the team?

Who steps up?

Peter Obleng rose to the occasion and he was unstoppable. 20 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, and 0 turnovers is the kind of performance a coach would want in the final.

His performance should be a motivation to all the other players that as a unit they can get over the hump.

Edgar Munaba, Mpiya Juf and Stanley Mugerwa are the ones whose output was way below the expected and despite all this, the Titans were still close as the game winded down.

The output of Ivan Lumanyika was also another positive. 10 points and 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks in 17 minutes was solid, but when he got tired, the substitutes didn’t perform to the level he had.

Malual Dier put in another solid performance for the Oilers and his coach, Andrew Tendo had this to say about Malual’s new expanded role.

“I think he is adjusting well and naturally, he will have some moments of brilliance and some moments of low concentration but overall, he is doing a very good job at adjusting to his expanded role”

Malual played 30 minutes and he finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Titus Lual also was very outstanding defensively with 18 rebounds, 4 steals and 6 blocks.

Can these players produce a similar output, or will it dwindle? Whatever the case, the teams know that some individuals have to put up their hands and rise to the occasion.

City Oilers

Playoffs record 6-0

Previous Games

City Oilers 70:61 KIU Titans

City Oilers 78:63 UCU Canons

City Oilers 62:55 UCU Canons

City Oilers 64:59 UCU Canons

City Oilers 91:69 Kampala Rockets

City Oilers 75:52 Kampala Rockets

Top Performers (Playoffs)

Titus Lual 13 pts, 7.6 reb, 3.2 ast, 1.6 stl

Ivan Muhwezi 9.4 pts, 4.2 reb, 2.4 ast, 1.8 stl

Fayed Baale 9.4 pts, 4.2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl