Basketball: For Oilers, BAL isa learning process

Defeats can’t be masked in sport. There is no such thing as a glorious defeat. If it was there, then Uganda champions City Oilers would be basking in the aftermath of back-to-back defeats to Angolan giants Petro and Egyptian powerhouse Al Alhy at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Nile Conference in Cairo.

But the Ls occurred albeit in contrasting fashions. Petro Atletico prevailed 89-71 over City Oilers in a game where they toyed with Mande Juruni’s side before taking charge late on.

It was a gallant effort from an Oilers side reinforced with American guards Germaine Roebuck Jr, Fernand Jones and James Justice Jr to match the level of skill and intensity at continental level.

The 70-72 loss to AlAlhy, was indeed a close one but the Oilers had to dig really deep after finding themselves a massive 33 points behind their opponents. That they made it a contest late on is testament to their recovery powers and an ability to never say die.

Yet what is quite apparent is that Oilers, for all their unquestioned dominance of Ugandan basketball, are learning what it entails to play the game at the highest continental level.

UNLUCKY

They were due to take on Guinea’s SLAC yesterday in a must-win game, but their expedition in Cairo thus far has shown that there remains a chasm for them at BAL. Juruni, arguably the greatest coach in the history of Ugandan basketball, will have noted that size is crucial at this stage.

Petro and Al Alhy were blessed with the kind of size that Oilers would do with. Both Petro and Al Alhy dominated the Oilers inside, which meant that Juruni’s side had to chase both games for long spells.

Titus Lual is a big specimen but he doesn’t clean boards like centres do; that has left Abdihakim Ghedi as the Oilers’ lone weapon in the paint. The lack of size has affected the Oilers’ perimeter defence and Juruni will have noted the lessons in Cairo.

Admittedly, the Oilers were unlucky to start their BAL Nile Conference schedule against the two strongest teams in the group. After the SLAC game last night, Oilers will play Cape Town Tigers of South Africa and Ferroviaro Beira to try and salvage something from the tournament.

Juruni is a good student of the game and the experience of competing in Cairo will not end without some harsh lessons learnt.

Most importantly, it is not like the Oilers have been playing poorly; the reality is that they have upgraded their talent to a level of competition that demands certain fundamentals. BAL has mostly been a learning process for Uganda’s most successful basketball team of all time.