NAIROBI (Kenya) - A second half slump for Zambia's Matero Magic in their clash against City Oilers of Uganda gave the latter a 2-0 perfect run in a 93-73 win over Matero Magic.
A closely contested opening quarter saw the Andrew Tendo-coached Oilers carry a slim three-point lead in an 18-15 outcome heading to the second.
The Zambians, who suffered a somewhat shocking 87-34 defeat to Urunani on the opening day, kept the match close in a 23-18 second quarter outcome in favour of the Ugandans.
Tendo's charges doubled their lead with a 27-19 run on resumption and Matero's attempt at a comeback in the final stanza was all but a facade as they went on to lose by 20, despite scoring their highest point in a period with 21.
TURNING POINT: What can only be described as a moment of madness in the early stages of the second quarter for Matero Magic, had them allow an 8-0 run for Oilers, including two trebles, with their efforts on the basket blocked twice in less than a minute to completely change the trajectory of the clash as Manuel Da Silva's charges never recovered from it.
HERO: Petty Parish, returning to Oilers after helping them qualify last year, rose for a team-high 20 minutes, 7 rebounds and as many assists. Israel Otobo's brilliance on the boards, 12 on defense helped Oilers pull away, especially in the opening half where he registered 9. He completed his double-double with 13 points.
In a game with many highlight moments, it was probably 18-year-old Waleed Ali's last basket of the match, having only been on the court for 55 seconds that was the most celebrated. The youngsters got a standing ovation from the fans who had cheered him for the entire time he was on the floor.
STATS DON'T LIE: Oilers picked one offensive rebound less than Matero (15) but were able to outscore the Zambians 18-6 on the second chance points. It was, however, on fast breaks that Oilers had the biggest advantage, going 39-19. 16-of-38 from behind the arc also did its magic for the Ugandans.
BOTTOM LINE: Matero came into the Elite 16 unbeaten but their journey is virtually over while Oilers, assured of a Semis place regardless of the result against Urunani, look to continue their unbeaten run in Sunday's highly anticipated clash.
THEY SAID: "I am proud of the guys for the energy we played with in the second half, for the most part when we turned it on and started playing defense. We go out, ran, took the lead up and I am impressed. We switch our focus to the final game of the Group Phase against Urunani who, having watched them, got very talented guys. We will, however, do what we do, continue to rebound, play good defense and take out some of their strengths and hopefully we will come up with a win," City Oilers forward Petty Parish.
"It was a competitive game, we came out and gave our all but we just came up short. We got out rebounded and out hustled, our effort was there but we couldn't muster a win. We still have another match to play against Fox, a team weet in the Group stage in Zimbabwe. We are familiar with then and we will come out to play for that win," Matero Magic forward Donovan Lamont Jones. FIBA