COULD THERE BE SURPRISES AT THE 2023 BAL SEMI-FINAL?

COULD THERE BE SURPRISES AT THE 2023 BAL SEMI-FINALS?

Could there be surprises in the 2023 BAL Semi-Finals, or will it be business as usual for two former African champions?

Only one of the three teams heading to Wednesday’s semis has ever reached the BAL Semi-Finals before, that’s Petro de Luanda.

The other three – Al Ahly, AS Douanes and Stade Malien - have reached this stage of the competition for the very first time.

Petro de Luanda are a two-time African Champions (2006 and 2015) and Al Ahly have lifted the FIBA Africa Champions Cup in 2016.

Both Al Ahly and Stade Malien are making their debut in the BAL while AS Douanes are showing up in the tournament for the second time since the BAL inaugural season.

In theory, last year’s runners-up Petro de Luanda are favourites when they take on AS Douanes. Al Ahly looks strong enough to prevail against Stade Malien.

But these are nothing but predictions.

If AS Douanes and Stade Malien maintain their winning and resilient mindsets displayed during the Sahara Conference and Quarter-Finals, these Semi-Finals series could be anyone’s games, and Petro de Luanda and Al Ahly may urgently need to find ways to live up to expectations.

The Senegalese champions have won their last four games, and they don’t seem too concerned about their underdogs status.

Stade Malien are on three-game winning streak and look confident.

AS Douanes are looking to prove doubters wrong, and that level of confident is reflected by Samba Fall who stressed that AS Douanes “Can’t go home without the BAL title.”

But one thing that AS Douanes coach Mamadou Gueye seems realistic about is that taking on Petro de Luanda could be their toughest test.

Gueye isn’t necessarily unfamiliar to Petro.

In February 2021, Gueye was Senegal’s head coach during the second window of the AfroBasket Qualifiers in Yaounde when Angola – represented mostly by Petro de Luanda players and coached by Jose Neto – trounced Senegal 82-51.

“[Petro] is a very good team which practically represents the Angolan national team and AS Douanes does not represent the Senegal national team,” Gueye recalled. 

“And Petro’s budget is enormous…. So, let's play game by game. Let's not put pressure on ourselves,” he said.

Chris Crawford and Jean Jacques Boissy – the only two AS Douanes to average in double digits with 19.5 and 13.7 points per game – appear as their main offensive weapons.

“We are not satisfied until we reach our goal [of winning the 2023 BAL],” observed Neto, whose team is searching a quadruple after winning the Angolan League, National Cup and Super Cup.

Stade Malien, the only team from the Road BAL Qualifiers, still in contention, have nothing to lose to go up against better-equipped team, noted John Wilkins, one of the team’s key players.

“We won’t go down without a fight,” Wilkins said before admitting that Al Ahly “is a team that knows how to win big games. It’ll be a tough game for us.”

To try and overcome Al Ahly, Stade Malien are likely to rely on the effectiveness of Aliou Diarra, Souleymane Berthe and Wilkins, who have been vital for the Malian champions.

Even Al Ahly head coach Agustin Julbe admits that Stade Malien presents a different challenge.

“The Championship is our goal, but we are taking things one step at a time,” said the Spaniard who led Zamalek to the 2021 BAL title.

“Stade Malien is a different type of team,” Julbe admitted. “[They are].. more physical, more athletic… will demand other things from us, but I am sure my players will be ready.”

The man who powered Al Ahly to the 2023 Egyptian League a few days before the BAL Quarter-Finals, went on saying that his team’s morale isn’t an issue. “There’s no better motivation than being in a scenario [BAL Semi-Finals] like this. We want to play for the Championship,” he said.