Mendoza shines as Petro de Luanda relaunch Playoffs hopes

No reigning Basketball Africa League (BAL) champion has ever lost three games in a row, and Petro de Luanda made sure they would not be the first.

The Angolan champions beat US Monastir 78-68 as they were desperate to make a difference and revive their hopes of securing one of the two automatic berths for the postseason.

Things seemed to be going US Monastir's way after a disastrous first half in which Petro de Luanda not only turned the ball over nine times, but also struggled to attack against a 2x3 zone defense and went 1-for-2 from the free throw line. US Monastir, meanwhile, went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes of play.

A team talk at the break, Yanick Moreira later told BAL.NBA.COM, was crucial in turning things around.

"At halftime we emphasized that it was important for us to play as a team and sacrifice ourselves. We did that in the second half, which was much better for us," said Moreira, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Indeed, in a more composed second half, Petro de Luanda turned the ball over once in the third quarter and once in the fourth.

Then Mendoza showed up.

The Dominican Republic guard may have had a moment of introspection at halftime after shooting 2-for-5 in the first two quarters.

He owned the rest of the game, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting.

"We showed who we are as a team," Mendoza told BAL.NBA.COM.

"We knew we weren't playing to our potential. In the end, I had a good game and was able to help the team win.

"I feel great that I was able to make a difference for the team, and we hope to keep the momentum going for the rest of the competition."

When asked about the importance of avoiding becoming the first reigning champion to lose three games in a row, Mendoza said: "It was really important to win the game to boost the morale and confidence of the team."

"After the first three games, we now know what our opponents are made of and what we can expect from them."

"We played well against Ville de Dakar, but we weren't good enough, now it's a matter of improving small details of our game and we'll be fine."

Petro de Luanda de Luanda, who started with a new lineup for the fourth consecutive game, took the field looking to reverse a two-game losing streak, and a 6-0 to start the game translated their intentions.

Egyptian forward Patrick Gardner was once again terrific, shooting 7-for-13 to lead the Angolan representative with 19 points.

Patrick Hardy Jr. led US Monasir in scoring with 16 points, Radhouane Slimane added 13 and Medhi Sayeh came off the bench to contribute 11 points.

The Tunisian champions paid the price for turning the ball over 21 times and shooting poorly from the line (13-19).

While Petro de Luanda face hosts ASC Ville de Dakar on Saturday, US Monastir take on Kriol Star.