Tony Drileba had a Man-of-the-Match performance with a double double of game high 17 points , 11 rebound , 3 assists and 2 blocks in the City Oilers victory over Warriors in game one of the best of 5 NBL semi finals playoffs. In a league where players can be wasteful, Drileba was very efficient – going 4 of 4 in two point field goals and 3 of 7 outside the arc. Coach Mande Juruni of the Oilers had nothing but praise for Drileba.
“He has been playing well all year long. We can only hope he keeps doing what he is doing ” – Coach Juruni
Game one can be looked at in terms of what the Oilers did given their human resource or it can be looked at in terms of what the Warriors didn’t do.Going into the game, Warriors knew their advantage but they fatally failed to exploit it. Warriors’ advantage lay in their size while the Oilers have to work with only two natural Forwards in Laundry Ndikumana (9 points, 11 Rebs) and James Okello(5 points, 11 Rebs) due to the injuries of Francis Azolibe, Stephen Omony and Jonathan Egau. The Warriors failed to put Pressure on the Oilers front court, not even in High-Low sets, with Amisi Said and Stanley Mugerwa (15 points) getting a tally of only 16 points.
Omongin Abel (5 points) was very important particularly because he was tasked with the role of resting James Okello and Laundry Ndikumana. This role would have him play as a 4-man – sacrificing his body completely out of his natural point guard role.
“He is the only guy we have at the moment who can fit in that role, he did an amazing job today.” – Coach Juruni on Omongin
Coach Juruni hints that team chemistry is going to remain the key to their success saying;
“The guys know that we are three men down. We have been playing together quite a while now and been through a lot together but mostly we emphasize accountability for self and for one another.”
Jimmy Enabu came off the bench to star for 12 points. Enabu is picking his game from the drawers since he can’t practice with the team. He is enrolled in Flying School.
“We know he can’t be with us all the time. Matter of fact, he has had exams everyday this week and he still has more exams to do. We are not putting much pressure and expectation on him given his circumstance but we are glad he can be here whenever he can.”- Coach Juruni
Chris Omanye scored 14 points for Warriors while Gatwek Kutai off the bench added 11 points on a night Warriors struggled offensively.
brian@basketball256.net | Twitter: @Cucubrian
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