Copyright kawowo
City Oilers 90-83 Nam Blazers | Oilers lead series 2-0 Kurt Wegscheider took his turn in Game 2 of the National Basketball League Playoff Finals to power the City Oilers to a 2-0 lead over the Nam Blazers. The power forward poured in 37 points as the defending champions defeated the Blazers 90-83 at Lugogo Indoor Stadium on Sunday night. Right from tip-off, Wegscheider torched every defender thrown at him in the half-court and took every transition opportunity to score 18 of the Oilers’ 24 first-quarter points. Early in what was a seesaw second quarter, the Blazers’ Nigerian power forward, Anthony Chukwurah, went to work in the midpost, but his side was not exactly taking good care of the basketball, coughing it up four times. Defensively, the Blazers were not astute. Their coverage on ball screens was porous and the Oilers got every switch they wanted to isolate or take a wide-open shot as was the case late in the second quarter when Fayed Bbale (9 points) hit three straight triples. Down four (43-39) at halftime, the Blazers played their best quarter of the game with shooting guard Innocent Ochera and Chukwurah taking charge offensively as they combined for 24 of the Blazers’ 30 third-quarter points. Turning Point Ochera’s hot hand that gave the Blazers a 9-point (67-58) lead forced the Oilers into a timeout with under 2 minutes to play in the third quarter. On return, Ben Komakech connected from deep but Jimmy Enabu responded with a midrange jumper that was followed by a good defensive sequence from the Blazers. However, while running a set at the other end, referee Baker Kyambadde wrongly judged Joel Lukoji to have stepped out of bounds, gifting Oilers and the Blazers never recovered mentally, allowing Komakech (9 points) to hit another 3-pointer at the buzzer. Early in the final quarter, with the Blazers leading by 4 points, Kyambadde called for a foul on Arthur Wanyoto for what appeared to be a clean block of Chad Bowie’s 3-point attempt. Wanyoto buried his head on the floor in disapproval of the call and David Ssenfuma gave him a technical. Bowie, who finished with 16 points, hit all four throws to tie the game at 71 and the Oilers were back in the game and sealed it after Chukwurah picked up his fifth foul for what Ssenfuma judged as an illegal screen against Bbale. Ochera finished with a team-high 23 points in a losing effort. Chukwurah had 17 points to go with 14 rebounds, while Enabu chipped in with 11 points and 8 boards. Game 3 is on Tuesday night at Lugogo.
