City Oilers are turning the National Basketball League into a single band competition—having raced to five peat over the weekend after sweeping away KIU Titans 4-0 in the best of seven men’s final. With such a dominant display, the reigning champions have proved to be incomparable to any side in the local top flight. The five-time champions financial muscle is well-documented, but is it the money that makes all the difference?
Occupying a position of best financed team might guarantee the best roster but this will not automatically grant the mental edge that has made the Oilers impossible for the other teams in the race to beat. And according to head coach Mandy Juruni, “Our goals as a club are very are very clear from the start of the year. We always have or set a target and we work had to achieve that. In this we always improve the team by having the right trainings and players,” said Juruni as he played down claims that money is playing a big role in their success.
The Oilers’ supremacy it was feared, could pose challenges for the basketball fraternity. Can the league retain its excitement if sides like Betway Power, Pemba Warriors, UCU Canons and this year’s losing finalist Titans are all having to play never-ending catch-up? Not quite, according to Brian Wathum the coach whose KIU side was brushed aside by the Oilers on their debut final. Wathum admitted that the Oilers deserved to defend their title given their organisation and clearheaded strategy. Instead of worrying about Oilers’ dominance, he thinks it is a good thing for the competition especially as it will spur them to pick a leaf.
“There is a lot of uniqueness in the Oilers’ side, say their management and roster of the team. But each team must adopt its own style and sure it’s good to beat me,” Wathum stated. On his team’s preparedness for the new season slated to tip off in April, Wathum said, “We are going back to the drawing board and make a few adjustments in personnel with a few signings. And now we have little experience, we will come back stronger.”
Allan Musoke, manager of last year’s losing finalists Betway Power, explained that Oilers deserve the success they are achieving because they have a smart recruitment plan. His advice for teams hoping to push Oilers off their perch?
“We should be organised and improve on our rosters. To achieve this, we must have the right management structures in order to attract and retain sponsorships.”
The national league governing body (FUBA) Head of Communication, Grace Kwizera on his part believes that a dominant force has helped to raise the quality of all the teams playing in the league, especially over the past two years. According to Kwizera, the quality and competition displayed by various teams is “amazing”. “Their success [Oilers] has awakened teams to do better preparations. Although we have one winner for five years now, at least each time we get a new finalist.
“We did not expect a youthful side like KIU can beat odds and reach the final but it did moreover on merit. Even in the final, they put up a spirited fight and that’s why Oilers won on slim margins.”