City Oilers go big for BAL Qualifiers

Qualification to next year’s Basketball Africa League will be a lot tougher than before and City Oilers management knows that.

From the team that won the tenth National Basketball League, the Ugandan side has added three big names to help negotiate the East Division Elite 16.

Petty Parrish, who was pivotal as Oilers made it ten titles in as many season, is among the additions.

Parrish averaged 18 points in the five games he played as Oilers closed the semifinal series against UCU Canons before sweeping aside KIU Titans in the finals.

The other two players returning to the Oilers are Germaine Roebuck Jr. and Falando Jones. The pair has played for the Oilers before but missed the team’s second appearance in the BAL last season with various reasons.

Roebuck Jr. was injured at the time while Jones was still contracted with Egyptian side Al Ittihad Alexandria.

Go big

The biggest addition made by the club is that of Nigerian center Israel Otobo. At 6-feet-8-inch, the big man will be expected to give Oilers the necessary paint presence as the team looks to go to the BAL for a third time.

Otobo made his BAL debut with 21 points and 13 rebounds as Burundian side Dynamo defeated the Cape Town Tigers 73–86 in March.

Unfortunately for him, Dynamo forfeited its following games as the team refused to wear the league's sponsor logo Visit Rwanda amidst political tensions between Burundi and Rwanda.

The 20-year-old made his debut for Nigeria in February 2023 during the Fiba World Cup Qualifiers and is one of the highly regarded talents in the African market currently.

He has since represented Rwandan champions APR and will be a big addition for the Oilers.

The side has also added KIU Titans’ forward Peter Obleng, averaged 12 points and six rebounds last season.

“I am quite happy with the progress of the team, the boys maintained their fitness levels,” head coach Andrew Tendo said after one of the team’s sessions held at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium.  

“The other teams have really upgraded a lot. The more seasons you play, the more u realize the need to keep improving your team,” he added.

With players like Fayed Baale, Titus Lual, Ben Komakech, Ivan Muhwezi, Rogers Dauna, Moses Maker, Benjamin Kawumi and Allawi Ssenkubuge still part of the squad, the new additions will be expected to help the team move a level higher to secure qualification.

Oilers will face competition from Zone V sides Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya) and Burundi’s Urunani.

MBB (South Africa), NBA Academy, Matero Magic (Zambia) and Brave Hearts (Malawi) are the other teams in the East Division.

“We are fortunate to have guys who are just coming back and that gives us chemistry in the team,” Tendo revealed.

To qualify for BAL, City Oilers must reach the East Division final.

Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli Sport Club beat Stade Malien 71-68 on Sunday in the final game of the 2025 Road to BAL West Division Elite 16 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

But the most important bit is that the two sides clinched tickets to the BAL, joining the eight automatically qualified teams that include champions from Nigeria, Tunisia, Angola, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Rwanda.

The dates and venue for this year’s BAL Elite 16 East Division are yet to be confirmed.

City Oilers additions

Germaine Roebuck Jr., Falando Jones, Israel Otobo, Petty Parrish, Peter Obleng