Africa-Press – Angola. The failure of Petro de Luanda in the African Basketball League and the disclosure of the pre-selection centralized the attention of last week, with different reactions in the press and on social networks.
Effectively, the society’s manifestations before the fourth position of Petro de Luanda in the continental competition, ended Saturday, in Kigali (Rwanda), when it was considered as a candidate for the title, were of failure.
After the third position in 2021 and the second in 2022, it was expected that the Angolan team would win the cup or, at the very least, reach a place on the podium, on the contrary, it ended up in the modest fourth position.
It lost on Wednesday in the semi-finals against As Douanes from Senegal, by 86-92 and in the fight for third place it lost on Friday against Stade Malien from Mali, by 65-73, in a competition played at the Arena de Kigali.
Far from what he promised in the domestic competition, where he won the National Championship and the Angola Cup, Petro sent the message of a capable collective, but ended up defrauding with unconvincing displays.
The call for pre-selection for the modality, for the World Championship from August 25th to September 10th, in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan also divided opinions, with the absence of Carlos Morais being the most commented.
From the qualifying phase to the event in Asia, the national coach, Pep Clarós, has favored the renewal of the squad based on a federative program, including some references to safeguard the experience factor.
However, in the latest calls, for explained reasons, he abdicated athletes such as Carlos Morais, Jone Pedro and Yanick Moreira considered indispensable by sports critics, apart from the technical and discipline reasons evoked.
Controversy aside, sport also saw Petro de Luanda and Académica do Lobito qualify for the final of the Angola Cup in football, scheduled for July 3, at Tundavala stadium, Huíla province.
This Sunday, Petro beat Interclube, by 1-0, at the 22 de Junho stadium, in the semi-final, while Académica do Lobito defeated Kabuscorp do Palanca, by 2-1, at the Buraco stadium.
This is an unprecedented final, at a time when, in addition to the result, the Lobito team is guaranteed a presence in the CAF Cup because the “tricolors”, as national champions, will compete in the Champions League.
Still in football, the Angolan midfielder Manuel Cafumana “Show” won his third championship trophy, after his team Ludogorets Razgrad won the first Bulgarian Football League, with 78 points, in 32 games.
The player, formed in the schools of 1.o de Agosto, had already reached the top of the podium of the Bulgarian Football League with the same club in 2021 and 2022.
The consecration of Ludogorets Razgrad was consummated last Wednesday, as a result of the victory over CSKA 1948 Sofia, by 3-0, where the Angolan player played the regular 90 minutes.
Leaving 1.o de Agosto in 2019, he moved to Lile in the French Premier League and on loan to two Portuguese clubs, BSAD (2019-2020) and Boavista (2020-2021), arriving at Ludogorets in 2021.
In boxing, former zone VI African champion Simão Muanda was elected chairman of the Angolan Federation on Saturday, for a short term until 2024.
In place of Carlos Luís, the new leader of the fight modality, who competed on a single list, due to legal impediment to the previous one, obtained confirmation of 20 favorable votes from the associates, in the universe of 36 subscribers.
The elections were repeated after the 2020 act was considered irregular by the members and by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, leading to a period of near lethargy, despite the existence of a management commission.
The new board’s action plan focuses on rescuing professional boxing, as well as training trainers.
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