By Isaac Akugizibwe

KIU, Main Campus - Elvis Mutebi scored 14 points to give coach Brian Wathum’s KIU Titans their second victory in three pre-season friendlies played over the Easter holiday. The Titans beat seven-time champions City Oilers 73-54 in a game played on Monday evening at the KIU Basketball Court in Kansanga to keep their new season hopes high. 

This was the third pre-season game for KIU who kicked off with a 64-55 win over Nam Blazers (Friday) before losing 70-63 to JKL Dolphins on Saturday. KIU Titans coach, Brian Wathum, expressed confidence in his team after the 73-54 victory against City Oilers.

“I think we are headed in the right direction; I like where we are at, of course, if someone asks me percentage-wise, we are now operating at 50%, there are a lot of things we did wrong even if we won, that’s the beauty of this game and preseason,’’ Wathum said.

He added that it’s a good confidence booster and also very important to know that the Titans win even without their stars in the team. 

"We did a good job and these friendlies are for them to get into that mindset," he said.

KIU Titans didn’t need any of their stars, especially at the backcourt, to overcome the seven-time champions on Easter Monday. In addition to Elvis Mutebi’s 14 points for the Titans, Henry Okoth added 13 while Peter Obleng contributed 11 points to ensure victory.

Despite a convincing victory against heavyweights City Oilers, Titans coach Brian Wathum says that there is still more work to be done especially going forward.

“There is a lot more to be desired on offense, defense is okay, we are sticking to the principles, I think we are doing a great job there.”

The league, per the NBL fixture, will be played at KIU and UCU courts, giving KIU Titans an advantage.