City Oilers chasing BAL playoff slot under new tactician 

City Oilers have their eyes firmly set on making it to the Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoff slated for May in Rwanda.

As they head for the Nile Conference qualifiers, slated for April 19-28 in Cairo, Egypt, the nine-time Ugandan champions are under the tutelage of Moroccan Karim Nesba who takes over from long-serving Mandy Juruni. 

Already in Cairo for the competition, the Oilers have strengthened their squad with six new players as the side chase a maiden appearance in the BAL playoffs. 

The duo of centre player Brandon Sebirumbi, and forward Dane Miller Jr who were part of the squad in the Road to BAL make a return with Nesba also roping in Rembert Patrick Ronald and Bashir Ahmed. 

NBA Academy star Khaman Maluach and the experienced Robinson Opong complete the list of players joining the outfit for the Cairo extravaganza. 

Meanwhile, the Uganda-based legion is led by Tony Drilleba, Fayed Baale, James Okello, Titus Lual, Ivan Muhwezi and Allawi Ssenkubuge.

"Preparations have been going on well under the new coach and with the new players added we believe we have a winning squad. We still have a few more days to clean up a few areas ahead of the matches," - James Okello

The Ugandan champions played in the first round of the 2022 BAL Qualifying Tournaments, finishing the group stage 2-0 but eventually withdrew before the start of the Elite 16. 

In the 2023 BAL season, after beating Urunani in the third-place game of the Road to BAL, the Oilers finished sixth in the Nile Conference, winning one game out of five to miss out on the Playoffs. 

"The players brought in will help us compete for a top-two finish as we look to qualify to Rwanda. We will, however, take it one game at a time," - James Okello 

City Oilers squad for BAL

1. Allawi Ssenkubuge, 

2. Tony Drilleba, 

3. James Okello, 

4. Titus Lual, 

5. Fayed Baale, 

6. Ivan Muhwezi, 

7. Khaman Maluach (NBA Academy), 

8. Dane Miller Jr. Anthony, 

9. Opong Odoch Robinson, 

10. Brandon Sebirumbi, 

11. Rembert Patrick Ronald, 

12. Ahmed Bashir Mohammed

Nile Conference teams: 

‍Al Ahly (Egypt), Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya), Bangui (Central African Republic), City Oilers (Uganda)

The Uganda side open their campaign on 19th April against hosts Al Ahly of Egypt before taking on Bangui (Central African Republic) on 20 April and Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya) on 22 April.

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