City Oilers have fallen short of qualifying for their third consecutive Basketball Africa League (BAL) after falling to Burundi’s Urunani in the Eastern Division Elite 16 semifinal at Kasarani Indoor Arena.
Jean Jacques Boissy’s three-pointers in the final seconds changed the narrative of the game, which saw City Oilers fall short to Urunani 77-75.
The win over City Oilers came as a response from a team that registered a flawless campaign until falling short to Kriol Stars in the semifinals.
The City Oilers Head Coach, Andrew Tendo, credited his players for the commendable job well done throughout the game.
“It was a game of fine margins, coming down to zero points with seconds, but there had to be a loser. I am, however, proud of my guys. We lost two key players in the lead-up to this game, and the squad that was on the floor showed up,” he said.
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Falando Cortez Jones, the Oilers forward, expressed his disappointment in the loss that they conceded to Urunani.
“The basketball gods were on their side tonight. It came down to the last shot, a tough shot; Jean Jacques Boissy had the confidence to take it. We did everything we could all game; we played hard, came this close to winning, and it hurts,” he said.
City Oilers are out for the first time since their debut in BAL 2022.
