The ongoing National Basketball League (NBL) best of seven playoff final goes into game four on Friday, August 14 at the Lugogo Indoor stadium.
City Oilers, who are now 2-1 up in the series will go into this game feeling that the momentum is with them more than it is with the Namuwongo Blazers. Despite losing game one 67-73, the 10-time champions have won back-to-back games, which should give them the confidence going forward.
However, it was in game three on Sunday, August 9, that an ugly incident at the end of the fourth quarter, threatened the series. Perhaps the game would never have got to a logical conclusion had it not been for Oilers’ much maligned coach, Andrew Tendo, whose sense of reason may have saved the game from disrepute.
The Oilers’ top management appeared to order their players not to return to the court, after the game headed into overtime. This followed an incident in the final two seconds of the game, with the game locked at 64-64, when an Oilers player, Patrick Rembert, who is a recent American import, was fouled as he attempted a three-point shot.
With the referee making the call, Rembert was set to head to the free- throw line to take three foul shots. Considering how well Rembert had been shooting in the entire series, it was hard to bet against him scoring at least one.
Anyway, Rembert did not get a chance to take the three shots because according to the Blazers, his earlier shot attempt, which was foiled by a foul on him, was after the two seconds had run out.
In fact, after a short referee discussion, they and the technical table, which manages the game time concluded that indeed time had run out before Rembert’s attempted shot.
But as a result, all hell broke loose, when the top managers of both sides stormed the court, and had to be restrained, otherwise, a physical brawl could have easily broken out. For whatever decision would be taken, the club officials were feeling victimized because Rembert had indeed been fouled.
But also, at the time he was fouled, the two seconds seemed to have run-out. The latter was the decision taken, resulting in the Oilers management calling their players off. However, Tendo, calm as ever did not seem to agree with this move.
In fact, he was seen arguing with his bosses at the touchline. In Tendo’s mind, he must have realized that boycotting the game at that point would result in losing the game by forfeiture. But of what purpose would that be after all the work put in during training?
Besides, overtime was just another five minutes of play. In the end, Tendo swayed the rest, and Oilers ended up winning the game 76-72. But apart from the result, Tendo’s reputation may have been boosted two-fold if not more.
While both benches had irate and emotional individuals, that did not seem ready to listen to each other, Tendo proved to be the collected one. Just like he normally is during games, Tendo never throws tantrums. While basketball is a game that stirs a lot of emotions, Tendo will usually remain grounded.
He never has an altercation with referees even when a bad decision is against his team, and perhaps, the one thing that enables him block out the incessant criticism he gets about his coaching abilities, is his strong character.
In addition, all through Tendo’s career, both as a player and a coach, he has been a seasoned competitor. He won league titles with the Falcons back in the early 2000s, playing alongside Henry Malinga and Eric Malinga, who were the stars of the team.
But he was also part of the Oilers team that won its first championship in 2013. Yet, the one thing about Tendo throughout, it is not about winning or nothing.
While some may perceive that as having less ambition, Tendo has always been a gentleman, who is respectful and warm to both opponents and the game. He showed that in game three, and probably saved the series from degenerating.
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