By Isaac Akugizibwe

KIU, Main Campus-KIU Titans are looking to overturn their worst run in the National Basketball league so far when they take on arch-rivals City Oilers on Friday evening. Having lost the last three fixtures, the Titans need to avoid defeat against record winners City Oilers and this according to skipper Henry Okoth will not only restore momentum in the green camp but also elevate the team's playoff chances.

KIU Titans have played 17 games so far this season, winning nine and losing eight while they remain sixth on the NBL men's table with 26 points, two below fourth-placed City Oilers who have only lost twice in 15 games.

Back-to-back losses to UCU Canons, Namuwongo Blazers and Ndejje Angels, all derbies have left the chances of KIU Titans qualifying for Playoffs in absolute doubt and have made the fans more furious than ever. Next, they face a cunning City Oilers in a game they highly need to win.

But Henry Okoth believes the Titans have the potential to beat City Oilers even when the odds are increasingly against them.

"Yes, we are facing city oilers next with odds not being on our side. I believe we can stand out strong and bring the odds down," he said.

 "For sure the last three games we have played have not come our way. We didn't win any but for me, it doesn't mean that we are done with the league there are still high chances of us finishing among the top five by the end of the regular season and I believe we are still title contenders," he added.

What annoyed the fans most is that the last three defeats were all against teams with which they share a lot in common. For instance, the Namuwongo Blazers and Ndejje Angels derbies were very hard to take for the KIU fans with all the social media outbursts that came with it. They were simply reduced to baseless noisemakers.

Okoth assured that they will do their best to return to the right rhythm and also get the fans back to where they belong, 'planet happiness.'

 "I want to assure our fans that we are going to dig ourselves out from where we are now to the top by end of the season," he promised.

He also reported that the mood in the Titans camp is gradually becoming positive ahead of another challenge and that everyone knows that it is their responsibility to work as a team.

" The morale in the camp hasn't been bad. We lose together we win together meaning everyone is responsible for the team's status quo and we all know how to get out of it," he explained.

KIU Titans' performance this season has largely depended on the form of Edgar Munaba and Ahmed Kassa and the two have been on a decline since the beginning of the second round. Captain Henry Okoth said that the whole team has been trying to support them and work alongside them both on and off-court and that there is so much hope that the pair will soon return to the top and help KIU thrive.