The Basketball Africa League (BAL) final pitting Petro de Luanda (Angola) against US Monastir (Tunisia), which will take place this evening at the BK Arena in Kigali (Rwanda) marks the apex of three months of BAL 2022 season action, which were preceded by two intense phases of play from the Sahara Nile Conference in March and April, that followed by two playoff rounds which have been equally exciting. Petro and Monastir headed into the BAL 2022 season as favourites to win the league title. Both teams’ performance throughout the competition which has respectively seen them lose only one match gives further credence to this preseason prediction. Full Court Press will preview what it will take for either to side to emerge victorious and succeed Zamalek as BAL 2022 champions.  

From the 21-22 May, we had four high-level matches played, which saw Petro de Luanda, FAP and US Monastir and Zamalek advance to the BAL Playoff semifinals. While the first three teams advanced to the last four with relative ease, FAP pulled off the shock of the BAL 2022 campaign, by defeating the playoff hosts in front of a sold-out crowd which included Rwandan head of state Paul Kagame. The next set of games which will take place at the Kigali Arena on 25 May are poised to be extremely exciting, as FAP takes on Petro, followed by the North African derby and repeat of the inaugural BAL 2021 Finals which will pit US Monastir against Zamalek.

Petro de Luanda

Petro reached the Bal 2022 final by winning a hard-fought game against Cameroonian side FAP. Despite the relatively close nature of the 88-74 score line, except for certain segments of the first half, Petro remained largely in control during the fixture. Petro was able to match FAP’s physical style of play and despite their counter parts stout defense, Petro players were able to find different ways to score. The two-time continental champions are arguably the deepest and most talented squad in this BAL campaign, an attribute which has been complemented by the chemistry the players have also developed as members of the Angolan nation team. According to BAL play-by-play commentator and former South African international Quintin Denyssen, Petro will need to shoot well from the perimeter to have a chance to emerge as champions. Denyssen notes that, Petro is the team which has taken the most three-point attempts during the BAL 2022 campaign and if their 36-year-old sharpshooter Carlos Morais, whose averaging 13.3 points per game (ppg) can shoot well from deep, the Angolans will definitely be on the path to success. Petro’s explosive point guard Childe Dindao who is averaging 12.3 ppg alongside 4.1 assists per game (apg) will also be key to a Petro victory alongside forward Yannick Moreira and 2021 Angolan League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Aboubakar Gakou. Petro’s highly experienced Brazilian coach Jose Neto a well-known as a skilled strategist, will have to devise a plan Gakou to contain the Monastir’s court attack, which has been the most potent in BAL 2022. A Petro victory would be a source of motivation not just for the club but the Angolan basketball community. For the better part of three decades, Angolan was the vanguard of continental men’s club and national team basketball. However, from 2015, there has been a shift in that dominance, with Egyptian, Nigerian, Senegalese, and Tunisian sides at the forefront of African club and national team competitions. A Petro win could help to signal a renaissance for the Angolan game and spur them back to the highest heights which they occupied not too long ago.

US Monastir

Monastir’s qualification for the 2022 BAL Finals was achieved by defeating a BAL 2021 champion and fellow North African rival Zamalek, 88-81 in a cagey rematch of the last years finals. The reigning Tunisian champions have relied significantly on players who were with the team during the 2021 campaign including South Sudanese-Lebanese big man Ater Majok, 41 year old Tunisian international Radhouane Slimane as well as newcomer and American import, Michael Dixon. Majok, who is a leading candidate for BAL 2022 MVP, has been the best two-way player this competition, averaging 13.6 ppg and 12 rbds. He did a great job to contain Zamalek centre Anas Mahmoud to just four field goals during the semifinals, while adding 10 points to his effort. Majok’s offensive and defensive contribution as well as positive performances from Slimane and Dixon, who both average 15.9 ppg, will be central to Monastir overcoming last year’s disappointment and winning this year’s finals. Monastir also has two potential x-factors in this matchup against Petro, namely, Ivorian point guard Souleyman Diabate and 2017 Afrobasket winner Firhas Layhani. Diabate, who won the BAL 2021 edition with Zamalek, was brought in to replace Omar Abada and has done a good job as floor general, averaging 4.2 apg. Liyhani, who is averaging 11.3 ppg and 5.7 rbd, is a deceptively athletic player and a complementary presence in the paint, who could give the Angolan starting and second unit serious problems. A Monastir victory would be the crowning achievement for decade of success for Tunisian men’s basketball, which saw the national side won Afrobasket 2011, 2017 and 2021, with the most recent victory ironically occuring at the BK Arena.