City Oilers blend experience and youth in bid to reclaim NBL crown

The acquisition of Landry Ndikumana and Joel Lukoji has added much-needed experience to the City Oilers, filling a huge gap in a roster that struggled throughout the 2025 regular season.

Still, the majority of the Oilers squad is comprised of players who are developing or just entering their primes.

In fact, two of their four signings fall in these categories. Joel Kayira and Daniel Odokonyero are all players with their best years ahead of them, and they join a roster with similarly unfinished products such as Fayed Bbaale, Edgar Munaba, Bolton Rujumba, Rogers Dauna, Benjamin Kawumi and Allawi Ssenkubuge.

The future seems bright for the 10-time champions, assuming, of course, their youngsters go on and fulfill their promise.

“This should be their season,” said Oilers assistant coach Ben Komakech, who says all those young players have been in the NBL for about “three seasons”.

He stressed, “Now they are men. I don’t think they are rookies or young boys. I feel they are ready, and it shows in practice. They know what to do. They are hungry to play and are competing. I feel like they will have a good season this year.”

The Oilers are looking to reclaim their NBL crown after losing the NBL title to the Namuwongo Blazers last season.

Ndikumana, Lukoji will lead the Oilers along with Bbaale and Titus Odeke, but a lot of the Oilers’ success will depend on the production of their young guns.