- Nam Blazers 73-67 City Oilers (1-0)
Namuwongo Blazers take game one of the National Basketball League finals.
Nam Blazers registered a hard-fought 73-67 win against City Oilers in an NBL encounter at Lugogo Indoor Arena on Wednesday evening.
The Blazers were not so sharp enough on the day but still managed to secure a victory against the record champions.
Innocent Ochera got the game underway with a driving layup before Patrick Rembert responded with a long shot beyond the paint.
Tonny Drileba concluded with a big buzzer beater three-pointer as the Blazers concluded the first point with an 11-point (25-14) lead.
In the second quarter, the game got more physical as every play was challenged and most calls were challenged by the crowd.
Once again, Drileba turned up big with a cool head and veins of ice pouring in a big three at the buzzer to regain City Oilers’ 10-point lead (39-29) going into the long break.
Coming from a long break, Edgar Munaba got the period underway with a driving layup before Innocent Ochera responded with a long shot beyond the paint.
The third quarter was such a close frame, but the Oilers trailed by 11 points before going into the final period.
With 2:27 minutes left of the clock, Germaine Roebuck’s driving layup narrowed the Oilers’ deficit to six points (66-60). However, Drileba responded with yet another shot beyond the perimeter.
Despite the Oilers’ later charge in the game, the Blazers secured a six-point victory.
Fataki Nyembo (18 points), Tonny Drileba (16 points) and Innocent Ochera (15 points) led the Blazers’ scoring board in double digits.
On the other hand, Patrick Rembert (28 points), Germaine Roebuck (14 rebounds) and Landry Ndikumana (12 rebounds) contributed for the Oilers in double digits.