The NBL Finals game 6 is slated for Wednesday 5th at Lugogo and for the first time in a long time, the City Oilers could potentially be ousted.

Currently, they trail 2-3 in the series and the Namuwongo Blazers have a chance to seal it in game 6 and dethrone the ‘dictator’.

What happened?

City Oilers won games one and two and took a 2-0 lead in the series.

However, when Tonny Drileba returned for the Namuwongo Blazers, things took a different course.

The Blazers won the next 3 games and now lead the series 3-2 with the momentum heavily leaning in their favor.

If this was a boxing game, the City Oilers are on the ropes and they need something positive to come back.

What are those things that can help them?

In this article, we shall dissect some of the areas that the Oilers need to improve on or get going so as to have a chance at forcing a game 7.

The first is, a winning mentality

Winning the first 2 games and losing the next 3 can one have lose confidence and hope.

The most important thing for the City Oilers is to approach this gane with a winning mentality.

The mentality of a defending champion. A 10-time champion. That winning mentality.

Of course, most of the players on the current roster haven’t won much but it is up to management to remind the players what playing for the City Oilers means.

If the players can grasp that and come in with the mentality of champions, perhaps they can stand a chance.

Also, you don’t want to be the group that ended the championship winning streak.

So you come and play for pride and at least make sure you force a game 7.

However, when you look at the Nam Blazers, they have the players that have experience and have been at this stage numerous times and know what it takes.

If you are the City Oilers, you have to make sure you are mentally tougher than those guys because this game will test everyone and those who can’t handle will crumble.

Matching the Nam Blazers physicality

In games one and two, the City Oilers had a field day going to basket and making uncontested shots.

However, in three, four and five, the Blazers kept on increasing on the physicality, contesting everything and being aggressive.

That is an area that the City Oilers haven’t been able to match and they need to change that.

In game 5, there is when Rogers Dauna went to lay up and he was fouled hard by Ezeani John Bosco.

He went on the floor and was gasping for air. That is how hard the Blazers are playing. You don’t get anything easy.

On multiple occasions, Kurt Curry was seen putting his hands up, surprised that the referees had not called a foul.

Later in game 5, we also saw the Oilers not go for the drives that they would usually go for.

It seemed as though they were scared of attacking the rim because of what they would find.

The Oilers need to play as aggressively and if they don’t, we might as well just wave them goodbye before the game.

Involving other players

If you are keen, in each and every game, the Nam Blazers have had different players step up.

In game 3, Tonny Drileba was a difference, same as Arthur Wanyoto.

In game 4, Ivan Muhwezi came up huge, same as Moses Mugisha.

In game 5, James Okello was the man. He did the most for them.

When you look at the City Oilers, mainly 2 guys have been working for them.

Chad Bowie and Kurt Curry have scored 201 of the Oilers 368 points (54.6%)  in the series.

They have also attempted 173 of the Oilers 358 field goal attempts (48%).

Finally, they have attempted 62 of their City Oilers 116 free throws (53%).

These numbers show that they are the guys that the Oilers are trusting and giving the green light to score.

However, you need other guys to attempt because some times they are in tbe best positions.

Anytime a guy scores a basket, their motivation goes up but if you attempts less your confidence will dwindle.

For context, in the last 3 games, Ben Komakech has had just 3 field goal attempts.

This is a guy who scored 3/3 from range in game 2.

You need to create for him, because if he is a threat, the Blazers will also have to take care of him and that could create space for others.

In game 2, we also saw Fayed Baale get in some crucial shots. That is another player that you need to have attempt multiple times. He was mainly on the bench in game 5.

Same goes for Moses Maker and Titus Lual but these have to work in the post.

We all saw how effective Moses Maker can be in the post.

When City Oilers faced Sommet in game 5, he was the difference.

In game 3, he also had a wonderful performance, dropping 20 points with 8 of 15 from the field.

He is the key in the paint and the Oilers have to create for him, so that he can thrive in the spaces he is comfortable in.

Titus Lual has been attempting a lot from the 3-point line. 15 of his 24 attempts have been from behind the arc.

Of the 15 attempts, he has managed to score only 4 and that is not helpful.

You need him to go to work close to the rim and that in that way, he can be more efficient in scoring.

The 3-point shots

When the Oilers won games one and two, they scored 10 3-point shots in each of those games.

In games three, four and five, they scored 6, 5 and 3 respectively.

They need to move the ball more, stay patient and create high percentage shots.

That could help them score more and clearly, when they did better than the Blazers in this aspect, they won the game.

So Oilers need to make sure they get off cleaner shots and hope that they can go in.

A lot of different factors could be at play to decide who wins this game but if the City Oilers are to win, they need to address the issues above.

Game 6 will be on Wednesday 5th at Lugogo and if the City Oilers lose, they will be dethroned after their 10 year reign.

There is a big chance that history could be made and you have to be a Lugogo to witness it for yourself.