PETRO DE LUANDA SETS BAL THREE-POINTS RECORD, FINISHED THIRD

Less than 24 hours after losing to Zamalek in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) semi-final, Petro Luanda left its mark in the tournament by becoming the first BAL team to hit 20 three-pointers in a single game.

The Angolan champions looked like a totally different team from the previous day, routing the Patriots BBC 97-68 to finish third in the competition. It was Petro de Luanda’s biggest BAL winning margin.

The hosts of this year’s BAL opened the score with a three from Wilson Nshobozwa, after the Angolan team missed its first three shots, but it was a short-lived lead as the two-time FIBA Africa Champions Cup took the lead with a three-pointer from Childe Dundao and never trailed again.

Nshobozwa finished with three points; his teammate Kennet Gasana contributed a team-high 18 points on a 5-for-15 shooting. Dieudonne Ndizeye and Brandon Costner, the two other Patriots to score in double digits, combined for 24 points.

“It was a positive experience since the first day I joined the team,” said Patriots head coach Alan Major, whose agreement with the Rwandan champions finished on the last day of the BAL.

Petro de Luanda, on the other hand, admitted that it felt hurt following its semi-final setback, and the only way to recover from that defeat was to bounce back strong. “Look at the numbers,” noted Petro de Luanda head coach Jose Neto. “These guys are professionals, I trust them, and I am about the way they responded.”

Angola international player Valdelicio Joaquim sparked Petro de Luanda’s offense, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Five other Petro de Luanda players buried at least two three-pointers each as they established a BAL record for most three-points made in a single game.

“It’s not about the record. I would like to remind that we came to fight for the title. It didn’t happen, but I am proud of players. We are going back home, to prepare for the next BAL because we are the Angolan champions,” Neto added.

“Petro [de Luanda] is a great team. We did our best today,” Major added.

Petro closed its BAL campaign with a 5-1 mark. The Patriots finished four at 3-3.

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY:

Petro de Luanda’s bench contributed 55 points against Patriots BBC bench’s 22, and the Luanda-based team outclassed its opponent with an impressive 27 assists and 29 efficiency rate.