0-2 against Petro in 12 months. Is this FAP's turn?

Petro de Luanda and FAP have faced off a couple of times over the last 12 months with the Angolan champions coming on top on both occasions, but the sky is the limit to FAP.

The mindset around Petro de Luanda is that beating Forces Armées et Police (FAP) in Wednesday’s first Semi-Finals is a must-do task to pave the way for a place in the 2022 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Finals, but they admit that FAP can’t be underestimated. 

In the Group Phase of the 2021 BAL, Petro got away with a narrow 66-64 win over FAP in what has been described as Petro’s toughest game in the history of the BAL.

When the two sides met again last month during the Nile Conference in Cairo, Petro prevailed 73-60.

Now, with a place in the 2022 BAL Finals at stake, Petro de Luanda strongly believe they have a second chance to compete for the BAL trophy that they missed out last season.

Petro are back in the BAL Semi-Finals for the second straight time while FAP reached the last four for the first time.

HOW THEY REACHED THE SEMIS

Last season, the two-time African champions fell short to eventual champions Zamalek in the Semi-Finals although they beat hosts Patriots BBC to finish third.

Two days before knocking out Petro de Luanda last year, Zamalek destroyed FAP 82-53 in the Quarterfinals.

FAP remain cautious about their chances of reaching the Championship Game, but they don’t rule out a possibility of knocking down continental heavyweight Petro de Luanda.

FAP are having a BAL season to remember despite some ups and downs.

After finishing 6-0 in the FIBA-run Road to the BAL played in Yaoundé in October and December 2021, FAP finished 2-3 in the Nile Conference.

And beating Rwanda Energy Group (REG) in their home-court, is probably FAP’s loudest statement in their BAL journey.

WHAT ARE FAP MADE OF?

A win over Petro de Luanda on Wednesday would surpass expectations, but can they do it?

“Petro is a powerhouse on the continent. Nothing but great things to say about it.” said FAP’s main offensive weapon Joel Almeida.

FAP guard Deshaun Mormon said: “We just played hard. We stick with it. We’ve got a lot of stuff to work on but at the end of the day, it’s all about toughness. That’s what we are made about. It doesn’t matter who steps in front of us, we just keep going until it shows zero on the clock.”

And things are looking bright for Francois Enyegue’s team.

They embarked on this year’s BAL season looking to capitalise and improve from their first BAL appearance.

FAP is arguably the most physically aggressive team in this BAL season. And their never give-in attitude is another valuable asset the Cameroonian champions can benefit from against Petro de Luanda. 

WHAT THE NUMBERS SHOW ABOUT FAP AND PETRO

After six games each, Petro have given up 69 points per game while FAP have scored 68 points per game.

Petro grab 40 rebounds per game against FAP’s 43.4 boards per game.

Petro de Luanda scores 42.4 percent of their field-goals while FAP average 34 percent from shooting. 

FAP and Petro average 12.4 steals per game, which is the highest figure in the post-season.

WHAT SETS THESE 2 TEAMS APART?

Three-point shooting is Petro’s main offensive asset – they have attempted a tournament-high of 222 3pt, making 70 of those (31.5 percent), but they can be effective in the painted area too.

No team in the post-season grabs more offensive rebounds than FAP (16.5).

After losing their two meetings against Petro, is this FAP’s turn? Time will tell.