May 28, 2026
Petro de Luanda advance to the BAL Final for the third time in a row
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Petro de Luanda staged a comeback in the fourth quarter to defeat Al Ahly Ly 94-88, securing their third straight and fourth appearance in the BAL Final in six seasons.
The Angolan champions reached the BAL Final in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Childe Dundao, who came off the bench as the seventh option, changed the course of the game.
His partner in crime, Gerson Gonçalves, put in a terrific offensive performance to deny Al Ahly Ly a place in the final.
The Libyan champions dominated for most of the first three quarters, but when Gonçalves and Cleusio Castro executed a pick-and-roll in the paint, and Castro finished with a thunderous two-handed dunk to give Petro de Luanda a 75–73 lead with 7:13 minutes remaining, they never trailed again.
This was a rematch of the 2024 BAL final, and for the third time in BAL history, Petro de Luanda overcame Al Ahly Ly.
Petro de Luanda will face the home team, the RSSB Tigers, in Sunday’s final, while Al Ahly Ly will go up against Egypt’s Al Ahly SC in the Third-Place Game.
The 5-foot-7 Dundao hit three consecutive three-pointers in the first quarter to bring Petro de Luanda back from a 10-point deficit. He went on to finish the game with 26 points, shooting 7 for 10 from the floor.
Gonçalves was Petro’s primary playmaker, providing 10 assists and scoring 23 points.
Petro de Luanda started with a different starting lineup for the third time in the 2026 BAL Playoffs. Even so, of the ten Petro players who played, eight scored four points or more.
The Benghazi-based team reached this semifinal fixture as the season’s highest-scoring team. They were on a five-game winning streak and had everything in their hands to return to the BAL for the first time since 2024. However, Petro de Luanda proved hard to overcome.
Although Al Ahly Ly led by double digits at one point, Petro de Luanda’s defensive adjustments limited them to just 88 points, their lowest score of the season.
Donovan Williams was a one-man show for Al Ahly Libyan, shooting 9-for-16, including 4-for-9 from deep, to finish with a game-high 30 points. Charlie Moore added 20 points for the Libyan team, while Majok Deng was limited to 10.
Petro de Luanda looked unrecognisable in the opening quarter, turning the ball over ten times in the first half, mainly due to Al Ahly Libya’s aggressive, disciplined defence.
They finished with 17 turnovers.
Al Ahly won the rebounding battle (32–30) and led for 29:39 of the 40-minute regulation.
However, their bench did little to change the course of the game and were outscored 49–15.
Raphiael Putney came off the bench to contribute 14 points to the victors' total with a combination of lethal shots.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“Obviously, we are disappointed to have lost the semi-final, as our primary goal was to win the BAL title. However, this loss is part of the game. We’re learning from this game and will try to do better next time.”
“Petro is a really good and experienced team. They know how to deal with difficult situations just like us. They took the lead later in the game and we lost right at the end.”
“Losing three times to Petro? Our goal is always the same: to win every single game. It didn’t happen.”
Cleusio Castro (Petro de Luanda)
“I am overjoyed and lost for words at our team's efforts in securing the win, but I must also congratulate Al Ahly Libya on their performance and the pressure they put us under.”
“Making it to the final of the BAL three times in a row isn’t easy because there are so many high-quality teams and players.”
“We won this semi-final because we were humble and respected the other team when we stepped on the court.”
“One of the joys of playing for this Petro team is that everyone knows their role. The last basket I scored was a play that we execute daily in practice.”
“Our next task is to scout the Tigers, who are a great team.”
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