Oilers will face Nam Blazers in the final. File photo

National Basketball League 
Best-of-five semifinals 
Oilers 79 Sommet 70
(Oilers win series 3-2)
NBL Finals
Best-of-seven
Namuwongo v Oilers

The City Oilers played like the record champions of the NBL in the first quarter.

Afterwards, they offered reminders of their other, less flattering traits.

Nonetheless, they eventually did what they do best - win playoff series.

Mer Maker grabbed a game-high 23 points, to go along with 14 rebounds, while Kurt Wegscheider and Chad Bowie added 20 and 19 points respectively as the Oilers defeated the Sommet Spartans 79-70 to clinch their best-of-five semifinals series 3-2 yesterday at the YMCA.

The Oilers had failed to close out Game 4 on Wednesday and came into the contest with much of the pressure on their shoulders.

They didn't show it in the first quarter, playing with an urgency and efficiency that threatened to end the contest just as it was getting started.

But Sommet boast a plethora of offensive weapons and found a way back, winning the second quarter 20-14.

Peter Cheng snatched a team-high 14 points and 14 boards for Sommet, who cut the lead to one point after Kasereka Tembo's three pointer with 6:58 to play in the third quarter.

When Tembo, who finished with six points and seven assists checked out with shoulder trouble 10 seconds later, the Oilers went on an 8-0 run that put them in control for good.

The Oilers won the third quarter 26-21, with Sommet edging the highly confusing fourth quarter 11-8. It was as if both teams were in a turnover contest, aiming to see who could be more wasteful.

Perhaps it was the effect of their long and unpredictable series, which swung back and forth before the inevitable conclusion in the Oilers favour.

Nyembo Fataki had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Sommet, while Mark Ngobi scored 12.