At this point it’s no longer funny. City Oilers has become “kagoma ka lubendela, buli ayagala bwakuba, nga engalabi”

This translates to, “a drum for everyone to beat” and it’s looking very sad for them.

On Sunday 27th, the JKL Dolphins defeated the City Oilers, 64-62, their firs victory against the 10-time champions in forever.

The game was very close, they had a chance to seal it regulation time and they were unable to.

Even in overtime, they got another opportunity to get the job done, but they just handed the victory to JKL.

With under a minute left in the fourth quarter, Denis Omara missed a layup that would have given JKL a 2-point lead.

Some argue that he was fouled in the process, but shortly after, Fayed Baale was fouled on the 3-point line, and he buried all three free throws to give the Oilers much needed relief.

The Dolphins called a timeout and when they returned, they executed wonderfully.

City Oilers was trying to prevent Haron Alinaitwe from getting a clean ball but they forgot about Denis Omara, who got a very good open look and tied the game.

The Oilers called a timeout of their own but missed the shot and JKL called another, this time, they had a chance to take the lead with 11 seconds left.

They made a very good play, and Denis Omara got a good drive to be basket but Chuma denied him with the block and the game went into overtime, 52 apiece.

Noel Yamodo scored 2 baskets for JKL in transition and Denis Omara made 1 of 2 free throws to give them a 5-point lead.

At this time, everyone thought that JKL had the game in their hands and they would seal the victory.

However, that changed!

Bolton Rujumba came on and had a big impact on the Oilers as he scored 5 points in a 10-0 run that gave the defending Champions a 5-point lead with under 2 minutes to play.

At this point, everyone thought City Oilers had the game in the grip of their hands.

However, that changed!

Philip Ameny scored 2 big baskets, Noel Yamodo once again came up in transition, and Denis Omara finished them with a free throw.

During that 7-0 run for JKL, Ben Komakech missed 2 huge free throws and those had a big hand in deciding the eventual outcome.

City Oilers came into this game on the back of a 78-40 victory against the KIU Titans.

For JKL Dolphins, they had fallen to the hosts, the UCU Canons, 82-53, and needed a comeback victory.

After the first quarter, City Oilers led the game 19-11 and for a moment, many thought it’d be a routine win for them, just like it has been in the past.

That line of thought did not last long after their second quarter performance.

The Oilers were restricted to just 4 field goals made and 9 points in the second period.

Their execution was poor and credit to the JKL Dolphins’ defense for making it tough for them.

By halftime, City Oilers led the game 27-24 but it was a very open game for either team to take.

In the second half, Haron Alinaitwe and Denis Omara scored 3 triples each, including the one that sent the game to overtime.

Coach and Player Reactions

JKL Dolphins Coach Oscar Emmanuel had this to say about their victory, title contention and his emotions in overtime.

“It was a big win for us and I hope we can gain momentum from here. We have always believed in ourselves that we’re a big and good team”

“We are just taking one game at a time. Right now, we just want to qualify for the playoffs with a decent place and talk about the title later”

“You have to be strong-hearted to be a coach. I thought we were comfortable, and all of a sudden, we were the ones chasing the game”

City Oilers’ Ben Komakech on what they didn’t do right in the final 2 minutes of overtime.

“(We lacked) composure at the end. When we picked offensive rebounds, we should have slowed the game down and run down the clock”

About the shot that Denis Omara scored to send the game into overtime, he said;

“It was poor defense. We didn’t load well, we slept”

Finally, he commented on what these losses mean and the way forward.

“These losses are a learning curve. Though we lost, we improved a lot on defense. We just need to play better”

Match Stats

JKL Dolphins

Noel Solomon Yamodo 16 pts, 5 reb,  2 ast

Haron Alinaitwe 14 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl

Denis Omara 15 pts, 5 reb, 2 s

Mpeti Elvis 16 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 4 blk

City Oilers

Fayed Baale 17 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast

Joseph Chuma 15 pts, 15 reb, 5 stl

Malual Dier 9 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast

The City Oilers have now lost 4 of 6 games and their trajectory is concerning.

They take on Victoria Crocs next on Wednesday 30th at Lugogo.

JKL Dolphins has an even, 4-4 season record.

They return to action on Wednesday 30th as they face the Kampala Rockets at YMCA.