NAIROBI (Kenya) – The slowdown of the Zambians from Matero Magic during their match against the Ugandans from City Oilers allowed the latter to achieve a faultless victory by winning 93-73 against Matero Magic.
At the end of a very competitive first quarter, the Oilers, coached by Andrew Tendo, took a short lead of three points (18-15) before the second quarter.
The Zambians, who suffered a somewhat shocking 87-34 defeat to Urunani on day one, kept the game close in a 23-18 second quarter in favor of the Ugandans.
The Tendo players doubled their lead with a series of 27-19 at the restart and Matero’s attempt at a comeback in the last quarter was only a facade since they lost by 20 points, although that they scored their most points in a period with 21.
THE TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH: What can only be described as a moment of madness at the start of the second quarter for the Matero Magic, allowed the Oilers to go on an 8-0 run, including two three-pointers, with two blocked field goal attempts in less than a minute, which completely changed the trajectory of the match, with Manuel Da Silva’s players never recovering.
THE HEROES: Petty Parish, who returns to the Oilers after helping them qualify last year, played 20 minutes, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out a team-high 7 assists. Israel Otobo, brilliant in rebounds, 12 in defense, helped the Oilers take the lead, especially in the first half where he scored 9 points. He completed his double-double with 13 points.
In a game with many highlights, it was probably 18-year-old Waleed Ali’s final basket of the game that was most celebrated, even though he had only been on the court for 55 seconds. The young player received a standing ovation from the fans who cheered him the entire time he was on the pitch.
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: The Oilers took one less offensive rebound than Matero (15) but managed to overtake the Zambians (18 to 6) on second chance points. However, it was on the blocks that the Oilers took the biggest lead, with a score of 39-19. The Ugandans also managed to score 16 out of 38 times from behind the arc.
CONCLUSION : Matero arrived undefeated in the Elite 16 but his journey is all but over as the Oilers, assured of a semi-final berth regardless of the result against Urunani, look to continue their unbeaten run in Sunday’s highly anticipated clash .
THEY SAID: “I’m proud of the guys for the energy we played with in the second half, mostly when we started playing defense. We got on the field, we ran, we took the lead and I’m impressed We now focus on the last match of the group stage against Urunani who, after watching them, have some very talented players. We will however do what we do, continue to take advantage. rebounds, defend well and eliminate certain of their strengths, and I hope we win”, Petty Parish, ailier des City Oilers.
“It was a hard-fought game, we gave our best, but we weren’t successful. We had more rebounds, we were pushed around, we tried harder, but we didn’t We still have a match to play against Fox, a team we met in the group stage in Zimbabwe. We know this team well and we will play to win. Donovan Lamont Jones, assistant of Matero Magic.
FIBA
