Classy Zamalek book Petro de Luanda in BAL semis

Egyptian champions Zamalek and Angola’s Petro de Luanda will face off in the semi-finals of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) here in Kigali, Rwanda.  

Zamalek convincingly dismissed Forces Armées et Police Basketball (FAP) of Cameroon 82-53 in the quarter-finals.

Zamalek started slowly and allowed FAP a 16-12 lead at the end of the first quarter before bouncing back to win the subsequent quarters 18-12, 25-14, and 27-11.

American-Puerto Rican, Walter Wallace Hodge led Zamalek’s offensive, registering 18 points followed by 18-year-old Mohab Yasser Abdallatif, the youngest player in the inaugural BAL, with 14 points.

Zamalek's head coach Agustin J. Bosch admitted that his players had some nerves coming into the game which affected their start.

“We were nervous (at the beginning) because it's an elimination game especially in the first half, but having nerves is also important for future games. That gave us the right approach and character coming back into the locker room (during the break) and helped us to win.”

FAP’s guard Amadou Abdoulaye Harouna registered a game-high 21 points but it was not enough to propel the Cameroonians to the needed victory.

Harouna was well known to be a threat and was targeted by Zamalek’s defence particularly Mohab who monitored him throughout the game. 

As a result, Harouna ended up making the maximum five fouls and was evicted in the early seconds of the fourth quarter, ending FAP’s hopes of progressing to the semis.

FAP Coach Lazare Adien Ngono faulted his team’s exit to poor officiating as many decisions went against his team. 

“Nevertheless, this group of young players (FAP) has to be commended for all the hard work they have accomplished in this competition. They were here to represent and win but congratulations to Zamalek for the win,” said Ngono.

Petro two good for AS Sale

In the late Wednesday tip-off, Angola’s Petro de Luanda completed a double over Morocco’s AS Sale by winning 79-72, in arguably the most competitive BAL game thus far.

Angola’s Petro started on a high; winning the first quarter 20-12, before AS Sale recovered to level 23-23 at the break.

AS Sale won the third quarter 20-12 before Petro bounced back to win the final quarter 24-17.

Petro’s Shooting Guard, Gerson Goncalves registered 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and made the difference for the Angolan side despite AS Sale’s MVP contender Terrel De Von Stoglin’s 30 points exploits.

AS Sale coach Said El Bouzidi acknowledged that “Petro deserves to in the semi-finals.” 

Bouzidi told journalists in the post-game presser that his team, “tried their best to win but the better team won.”

According to Bouzidi, there was a lack of concentration towards the end of the game which cost AS Salé the game, also adding that having a weaker bench compared to Petro’s made a bigger difference.

Indeed, Petro’s bench recorded 30 points compared to 12 points by AS sale’s bench.

Petro’s head coach José Neto said: “We played as a team but had some drop moments. But I think we played with great defence and we were efficient on the offensive."

Quarter-finals continue

Petro de Luanda will have to cut down on turnovers (24) and a drop in concentration if they are to overcome Zamalek in the semi-finals, admitted Petro’s point guard Carlos Morais.

BAL quarter-finals continue Thursday with two games on the cards. Tunisia’s US Monastir will face Senegal’s Association Sportives des Douanes at 6:30pm (EAT).

The home side, Patriots BBC will play Ferroviàrio de Maputo of Mozambique.

Visiting French president Emmanuel Macron said he would be attending Thursday's matches together with his host President Paul Kagame.