SOLDIERS FAIL FIRST TEST: Ulinzi beaten by City Oilers in opening match of Fiba Africa Zone V Clubs Championship

Ulinzi's Amani Mayamba and USIU's Kevin Thangwa, left, during Nairobi Basketball League on Sunday, Oct 25, 2016, PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO.

Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) league champions Ulinzi Warriors got off to a losing start at the 2016 Fiba Africa Zone V Clubs Basketball Championship at the National Stadium Indoor Arena in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania yesterday.

Struggling Ulinzi had mixed results in the periods as they went down 55-93 to a well oiled and moneyed Ugandan champions City Oilers in the men’s Pool B match.

The Kenyans were full of nerves as they struggled to tackle City Oilers who took advantage of the soldiers’ confusion to open up a 12-2 gap just in the opening minutes of play.

Big man William Ochieng who seemed dejected with the opening display decided to forage for points solo and it paid off as Ulinzi were able to turn the tables to take a 21-19 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

However Ochieng could not continue with the heroics as he suffered a deep cut on the left eyebrow forcing him to retreat to the sidelines in most parts of the game.

Despite the unfortunate injury Ochieng was the first player to register a game high in the tournament yesterday with 20 points as James Okello looped 16 for the opponents.

Ochieng’s team mates failed to contain the salvos fired by City Oilers thereafter which was enough proof that the Ugandan side is out to improve the runners up position they bagged in the championship last year in Kigali, Rwanda.

Following Ochieng’s neutralization, City Oilers had a field day in the game scoring points at will to take the second quarter 12-29.

Things got worse for Ulinzi after the breather as they failed to match the Ugandans. City Oilers capitalised on the disjointed show by Ulinzi’s defence to win the third quarter 25-14.

The Ugandans that relied heavily on the likes of Stanley Ocitti,Landry Ndikumana, Jimmy Enabu and Brian Seniongo then decided to toy with Ulinzi after they were assured the Kenyans were no longer worthy opponents in the encounter.

With techniques and unmatched skills the Ugandan side easily won the last quarter effortlessly, beating Ulinzi 20-8, which saw them just miss the century mark with only seven points after the final score of 93-55 to their favour.

Ulinzi’s lack of tact in the game angered a section of KBF officials who were present in Dar to catch up with the tournament.

Without mincing his words, KBF Secretary General Vitalis Gode said the problem was with the technical bench.

He said whatever game Ulinzi displayed at the arena yesterday was poor and that the technical bench should act as soon as possible before the soldiers take their next flight back home.

“Ulinzi has good players, but the coaching standards are wanting. The technical bench is not giving them the necessary skills to tackle foreign teams when it comes to regional basketball,” said Gode.

“Ulinzi had all the time on earth to train and prepare well for the event, but despite the one month preparation the start was shaky with poor ball control, handling and executions, they need to go back to the drawing board,” Gode said.

Ulinzi head coach William Balozi said his players failed to warm up properly for the match. He ordered all the players to attend a training session at the venue late last night to rectify the many mistakes they committed against City Oilers.