Uganda’s eight-time champions City Oilers will travel to Egypt to take part in the BAL Nile Conference group games and coach Mandy Juruni announced the team that will travel for the games. This is going to be the first time that the City Oilers take part in the Basketball Africa League, a tournament that has been on for the last 2 seasons and now this marks the third season of the prestigious competition.
The City Oilers are no strangers to international competitions as they won the FIBA Africa Zone V competition which they won in 2016 and 2017. The Ugandan powerhouse also took part in the 2019 FIBA Africa Club Championships. The team has taken part in two qualifiers over the last two seasons, but they have only qualified once for the tournament.
The players named to travel include two Americans, an NBA Junior player, and an African player and the majority are local Ugandan players. These include Tony Drileba, Jimmy Enabu, Ivan Muhwezi, Baale Fayed, Titus Lual Odeke, Okello James Oxsy, Walujjo Edrine, Abdulhakim Ghedi, Germaine Roebuck Jr, William Ngor, Fallando Jones, and James Justice Jr.
Who Will City Oilers Play at the BAL Group Stages?
“We are thrilled to be representing Uganda in the Basketball Africa League tournament. Our team has a winning mentality, and we are excited to highlight our skills on the continent’s biggest stage” said Coach Mandy Juruni who has guided the City Oilers to eight championships in Uganda’s National Basketball League.
The team held its final training yesterday at the Lugogo Indoor Arena and is expected to fly out of the country on Saturday morning for Egypt where they will prepare for the tournament starting on the 26th of April.
On Thursday 27th April at 11:30 PM, the City Oilers will tip off their campaign against Angola’s basketball giants Petros de Luanda then on 29th April, the Ugandan team will play against Egyptian champions Al Ahly Sporting Club.
The Oilers will come up against some of the best teams on the continent like Cape Town Tigers from South Africa, Al Ahly of Egypt, Petro De Luanda from Angola, Seydou Legacy Athletique Club of Guinea, Ferroviaro da Beira of Mozambique.
Also read: Who has Qualified for 2023 BAL Playoffs?
Author: Moses Echodu
Moses is an avid Sports and Tech enthusiast. He loves to keep up to date with all the latest information and research on some of the most compelling stories.
