30 April 2023 | Basketball

Saturday, April 29, 2023

• City Oilers 70-72 Al Ahly
• Ferroviario Beira 76-101 Petro de Luanda

City Oilers were so close to registering their first BAL win but fell short to Al Ahly in the Basketball Africa League on Saturday. The Oilers fought from down 33 points but came short of finishing the assignment by only a basket. It was the second loss of the eight-time NBL champion who was handed a false start by Angola's Petro de Luanda. It was a live wire end to the game as the final play of the game nearly guided Mande Juruni's charges past hosts Al Ahly. The Oilers played the fourth quarter like their lives were dependent on it. They managed to score 34 points of the 70 collected in 40 minutes. Falando Jones would have won the entertaining duel but was denied a clear sight to the hoop hence setting up Titus Lual who failed to beat the buzzer. This was after tactician Juruni called a time-out to design the downfall of the Egyptian side with just two seconds but the attack yielded no fruit. At full-time, there was no celebration from either side as City Oilers covered their faces in disappointment while Ah Ahly still contemplated how they survived the scare. The Oilers will feel undone with their low conversion rate. They only scored 11 of 21 attempts on the free line. While only seven of the 24 three-point attempts fell. Germaine Roebuck Jr topped Uganda's scoring chart with 28 points as Falando and James Justice Jr added 15 and 11 respectively. Next on the menu for City Oilers is SLAC on Tuesday as they seek their maiden win at the grand continental stage.

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