Al Ahly Ly Vs Petro de Luanda
Tip time: 4pm CAT
Libyan champions Al Ahly Ly have all their eyes on winning their first-ever Basketball Africa League (BAL) championship.
The only undefeated team so far in BAL playoffs, the Libyans go into Saturday’s final showdown at BK Arena as favorites and only Angola’s Petro de Luanda stand in their way to glory.
Unlike Petro de Luanda, who faced ups and downs to reach the championship Game, Al Ahly Ly had a flawless postseason campaign, beating Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), then-reigning champions Al Ahly SC (Egypt) and Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria) en route to the final.
ALSO READ: BAL 2024: Rivers Hoopers outplay Tigers, claim third place
Petro de Luanda, on the other hand, opened their postseason campaign, with a heartbreaking 70-67 loss to US Monastir, but bounced back with wins over AS Douanes and Cape Town Tigers.
Al Ahly Ly and Petro de Luanda will face off for the first time in BAL history.
The epic matchup will be BAL’s 144th game, dating back to the league’s inaugural season in 2021.
Can Petro de Luanda, a team that has played more BAL games (29) than any other team, stop the high-flying Al Ahly Ly who are making their BAL debut this season?
Well, if statistics are anything to go by, then the Angolan champions may face an uphill task of trying to overcome a team that averaged 87 points per game in postseason while recording the best postseason field-goal shooting of 47 percent compared to Petro’s 37 percent.
The only similarity between Al Ahly Ly and Petro de Luanda is that both teams made it to the Championship Game after needing five extra minutes each to overcome their semi-final opponents.
Al Ahly Ly beat Rivers Hoopers 89-83 while Petro de Luanda edged out Cape Town Tigers 96-86 in a 45-minute match-up.
Although Petro de Luanda scored fewer points per game (76) than Al Ahly Ly (87) in the postseason, the 2022 BAL runners-up limited their postseason opponents to 74 points per game, that’s five points fewer than Al Ahly Ly.
This mouthwatering match-up will offer some intriguing matchups also with league leading scorer Jo-Lual Acuil Jr. going up against Yanick Moreira and Gerson Lukeny facing off Kevin Murphy.
But Petro de Luanda’s bench has proven to be its secret weapon with Nicholas Faust, Markeith Cummings and Jone Pedro providing Sergio Valdeomillos’ team a huge lift off the bench.
If Petro de Luanda are unable to prevent Al Ahly Ly’s newest addition Robert Golden from hitting three-pointers, minimize Jo-Lual Acuil-Jr's dominance in the paint, and can’t neutralize their former player Souleyman Diabate, the Angolan champions will be in trouble.
Interestingly, Diabate can become the only player with three BAL titles if he can help the Libyans beat his former employers.
Michael Fakuade has won two BAL titles with Zamalek (2021) and Al Ahly SC (2023.)
If Al Ahly Ly win the 2024 BAL title they will become the first Libyan team to win any African trophy, but, if they don't, Petro will lift their second continental trophy since winning the 2015 FIBA Africa Champions Cup.