Can FAP and Espoir Fukash upset Nile heavyweights Petro and Zamalek?

When games 10 and 11 of the Nile Conference get underway on Saturday in Cairo Espoir Fukash and FAP will try to re-enter the playoffs race.

As of Saturday, only one Nile Conference team qualified for the playoffs next month: Zamalek (3-0). The other five teams can still secure the remaining three tickets for Kigali, depending on their results, starting Saturday.

In the first game of the day, FAP take on Petro de Luanda, who came up short in the clash against BAL reigning champions Zamalek on Friday night.

In Saturday’s second game, there will be a David and Goliath meeting when Espoir Fukash – the only team in the Nile Conference that is yet to win a game – go up against Zamalek – a team that has never lost a game in the history of the BAL, and enjoy an overall 9-0 record since the BAL inception.

The last time FAP and Petro met up in the BAL last year in Kigali, the Angolan champions prevailed 66-64 in what was one of their toughest test in the tournament.

In that game, Petro de Luanda led by 14 points at some point, but the Yaounde-based team never backed down, and almost shocked the former African champions had they been more assertive from the free-throw line where they finished 19-for-28.  

Five FAP players – Cyrille Keumce, Cedric Kenfack, Etienne Toko, Pierre Essome and Ebakuh Akumenzoh - and head coach Francois Enyegue, who served as assistant coach - return for FAP for their second BAL experience.

FAP opened their Nile Conference with a bang after beating Espoir Fukash 77-60. They must beat Petro de Luanda to keep their BAL aspirations alive, especially after losing 73-70 to high-flying Cape Town Tigers in the last 2.2 seconds of the game on Wednesday night.

How the Cameroonian champions are going to try to bounce back against a team that self-proclaim BAL title contender is something that coach Enyegue prefers to believe that “anything is possible,” especially because “in the BAL you can’t underestimate your opponents.”

Cape Verde international player Joel Almeida is the go-to man for FAP averaging 16 points per game, Alexis Wangmene is FAP’s dominant force in the paint, contributing 6.5 rebounds per game, and Deshaun Morman - if he is fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered early in the tournament – can spark FAP’s offense with his quickness attacking the basket.  

The way things stand now, FAP need as many wins as possible before facing Zamalek - the toughest  team in the Nile this year - on the last day.

On the other hand, coach Jose Neto kept eight players from last season to complete their ambition of winning the BAL as the Angolan champions maintain.

Addressing the media in the aftermath of their loss to Zamalek on Friday, Petro de Luanda leading scorer Carlos Morais and coach Jose Neto recalled that the goal is to return to winning ways ahead of the playoffs, which they believe they will qualify for.

“We have two more games to play, and the goal remains the same since we arrived here in Cairo,” said Morais.

“We might face Zamalek again.”

In the second and last game of Saturday’s BAL action, playoffs bound Zamalek, who have been ruthless in the Nile, take Espoir Fukash. The Egyptian champions dispatched their first three opponents by a winning margin average of 18 points per game while limiting opponents to 70 points per game.

It remains to be seen if the Congolese outfit can pull out surprise in the Nile Conference.