Africa-Press – South-Africa. Angola’s Petro de Luanda have finally found their rhythm in the fourth season of the Basketball Africa League.
“There is no way these guys are contenders for this year’s BAL,” was the sentiment among the basketball fraternity when Petro lost their opening game. For a side that have made it past the group stages with ease for three seasons, many considered their performance below average, especially against a FUS Rabat side making their debut in the tournament that day.
Even Petro’s head coach, Jose Neto, acknowledged after the match his team needed to wake up before it was too late.
With a short turnaround between games, the Angolans did exactly that and pummeled Kalahari Conference hosts Cape Town Tigers to register their first win of 2024’s edition.
However, Neto believed they had still not reached their potential.
Addressing the media at SunBet Arena on Thursday after their second win of the tournament, which they clinched 89-86 against FUS Rabat, Neto shared a different perspective on his side’s performance during the tournament.
He said their win, in arguably the best game of the conference, was a huge step in the right direction.
“We came here to win the game and that is a very important step to have made, and we did,” Neto said.
“We played well.
“I thought we had some problems in the first quarter with Mark [Cummings] ejected. It was a hard moment, but our defence was good up until the last quarter.
“We have lacked consistency in the tournament because we had no preparation, we did not practise much with the new players and that made things hard for us.“But now what is important is that we won the game [against FUS Rabat] and we need to keep on working until the last game against Cape Town,” he said.
Despite the sides being tied 25-25 in the first quarter, Petro were a cohesive unit and able find open shots, defend and pass the ball effectively in the second and third quarters.
They added 29 points to the halftime score of 46-34 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Urged on by their animated head coach, Said El Boudzidi, Rabat sparked a comeback in the last quarter and closed the enormous gap to just four points with 50 seconds to go.
But Petro captain Carlos Morais kept his cool and hit a dagger three, erasing any hope of a Rabat comeback.
“Carlos is a legend. He is not a captain because he is the old player, it’s because of his positive attitude. He is a very important player for us, whether it is on or off the court,” Neto said.
“He has respect for the team and can talk with the players, me [Neto] and the staff,” he said.
The shortest man on the court, Childe Dundao, scored 25 points, with three rebounds and two assists, while his teammate, Aboubacar Gakou, chipped in with 21 points to help the tournament’s favourites Petro move a step closer to booking a place in the next round.
Petro’s final game is against Cape Town Tigers on Saturday (4pm).
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
