BOITUMELO RANTAO
DAY three of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) saw Angola’s Petro de Luanda feature in a statement 84-66 over Malian opposition AS Police.
The Kigali arena in Rwanda played host to the group B tie between 14-time Angolan champions and the 2019 Mali champions. AS Police’s team featured a good blend of experience, youth, and talent in their first BAL clash. A strong Petro de Luanda would be a formidable opponent on any day, on any stage.
The Malian outfit found themselves in deep water early in the first quarter going down 17-4 courtesy of quick basketball from Petro de Luanda. The gap between the teams continued to widen until a mid-second quarter surge, led by Mamadou Keita and Ibrahima Haidara, proved the Malian’s still had yet to arrive.
Jawachi Joseph Nzeakor led AS Police with 16 points, yet he was eclipsed by a dominant double-double (17 points and 17 rebounds) from Petro de Luanda’s Jone Pedro.
Petro de Luanda displayed throughout the contest why they were one of the tournament favourites in the lead up to the competition. They showed strength on the rebounding glass, comfortably out-rebounding their opponents, and composure when shooting the basketball.
Game six between AS Sale and FAP provided arguably the most competitive game of the league thus far. Both teams refused to accept their first loss until AS Sale eventually brought home an excruciating 87-84 victory.
FAP led the majority of the game – with AS Sale maintaining a close trailing distance no more than 10 points behind. The Cameroonian outfit controlled the speed of the game and capitalized with solid shooting from Amadou Harouna.
AS Sale remained a thorn in FAP’s side, chipping away at their defense until taking the lead midway through the fourth quarter. The game hung in the balance after Harouna made a three-point shot from the left-hand corner to put the score at 85-84 in favour of AS Sale with limited seconds left on the clock. The ball was left in the hands of Terrell de von Stoglin, whilst proving his scoring pedigree with 28 points, sealed the game with two free throws.
