Miller two rebounds shy of triple-double, SLAC back in hunt for a Playoff spot

SLAC had only one goal in mind ahead of their clash against City Oilers and it worked out according to plan.

The Guinean champions outplayed BAL debutant City Oilers 96-68 on Tuesday to re-enter the hunt for a Playoff berth.

They not only won their first game of the season, but they also recorded their first BAL victory since March 2022.

Dane Miller, who spent the entire 40 minutes on the floor, was two rebounds short of a triple-double.

He finished with 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to help SLAC improve to 1-2.

Meanwhile, the Oilers dropped their third straight game.

James Justice Jr. led the way with 30 points, his teammate Falando Jones added 20 points, but Miller and SLAC had the last laugh.

“We stepped on the floor knowing that a win would give us hope of continuing in the competition,” SLAC coach Zeljko Zecevic said, adding: “if we’d lost, we would basically be going home.”

Jones insisted that being 0-3 with two games left doesn’t mean the end of the road for the Oilers.

“It’s not game over yet,” Jones said.

“We still have two more games to play, and we are going to fight. This is a learning experience for us as a group; collectively it’s a new experience for us; We are going to try to get better and better.”

Justice Jr. backed Jones’ speech: “It’s not game over. We have more hustle and more fight, and play defense first, that’s what we really need.”

Uchenna Iroegbu came up with 22 points; Emeka Nwabuzor added 17, and Ismael Conde and Ibrahima Fofana combined for 26 points for the Conakry-based club.

The win means that SLAC improved their point-differential from -19 to +9 ahead of their last two games against Al Ahly and Petro de Luanda.

Zecevic later explained how they revived their Playoffs hope.

He said he instructed his players to trust one another. “Believe in yourselves. It will help us to fight until the end. I told them last night,” he explained.

According to Jones, City Oilers were ready to fight, but somehow things changed.

“We started off with a lot of energy inside the locker room, but it didn’t translate onto the court,” Jones stressed.

Justice added: “We definitely lacked energy; We got consistent stops against Ah Alhy, but we didn’t have them today. That was key.”

SLAC will return to action on Wednesday against Petro de Luanda, while City Oilers will take on Ferroviario da Beira on Friday.