Al Ahly SC improve home record to 5-1 with comprehensive win over City Oilers

Al Ahly SC only needed Ehab Amin’s services for 18:26 minutes to lead the reigning BAL champions to a comprehensive 99-76 win over City Oilers on Friday.

Amin didn’t even play a single second in the final quarter, but the Nile Conference hosts pulled off their first win of the season.

Amin had a 6-for-12 shooting to finish with a team-high of 16 points. Three other starters – Mark Lyons, Prince Ali, and Tony Mitchell Jr – scored 11 points or more each in the winning cause.

The Ugandan champions stepped on the floor ready to cause an upset, and, for a moment, they silenced the majority of the home crowd at Hassan Mostafa sports Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo.

Randy Culpepper shot from almost every corner, finishing with 15 points. He was backed by Patrick Rembert who contributed a game-high of 21 points off bench, but the Egyptian powerhouse prevailed.

City Oilers’ short-lived lead ended in the second quarter when Agustin Julbe Bosch’s charges used a 19-0 run to never trail again.

The win means that Al Ahly SC opened their Nile Conference campaign as they finished season 3 of the league, with yet another win.

They also improved their BAL home record to 5-1 dating back to last year.

“As a group we only had a few practice sessions together, but we were able to give a positive response tonight,” said Moustafa Elmekawi.

“We are not yet playing at the level that we want, but the team’s response in the second quarter was encouraging,” Elmekawi added.

James Okello was part of the City Oilers that came up short against Al Ahly SC last season when the Kampala-based side lost 72-70.

“It’s a disappointing result,” Okello admitted when asked to compare both scenarios.

“It’s something we should learn from going into the next game. We need to come back strong, physical and mentally. We need to match-up the physically of the other teams to achieve our goal to go to Kigali.”

City Oilers take on Bangui Sporting Club on Saturday while Al Ahly SC go up against Al Ahly Ly.