May 21, 2022

Petro's 19 3-pts sink AS Salé in critical Quarter-Finals clash

Association Sportive de Salé stepped on the floor on Saturday knowing that the only way to beat Petro de Luanda was to protect the perimeter line, but that didn’t happen.

The Angolan champions finished 19 for 36 from behind the 3-point line to win 102-89 and become the first team to advance to the 2022 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Semi-Finals.

“If we had five guys playing defence, it would have been a different story,” said AS Salé head coach Liz Mills.

“We would be sitting on the other side. We talked about defence since [Sahara Conference] Senegal. For us, that’s where we lost the game.”

CAIRO, EGYPT - MAY 21: Jerson Lukeny Henriques Gonçalves #10 of the Clube Atlético Petroleos de Luanda dribbles the ball during the game against AS Salé on May 21, 2022 at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Pape Emir/NBAE via Getty Images)

Petro de Luanda attempted more 3-pointers than 2-pointers (16 for 31). That showed how permissive the Rabat-based team’s defence was.

It was Petro’s third straight victory over AS Salé in the BAL after beating the Moroccan champions twice last year during the inaugural BAL in Kigali.

CAIRO, EGYPT - MAY 21: Carlos Edilson Alcantara Morais #6 of the Clube Atlético Petroleos de Luanda shoots the ball during the game against AS Salé on May 21, 2022 at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Armand Lenoir/NBAE via Getty Images)

Petro’s Carlos Morais, who opened the score with a three-pointer, had a 8-of-16 shooting, including five 3-pointers to finish with a game-high of 27 points.

Gerson Gonçalves, who, last week was named MVP of the Angolan League playoffs, contributed 14 points and 10 for his first BAL double-double.

Childe Dundão, who spent more time on the floor than any other Petro player (28:21 minutes), added 19 points, and Aboubacar Gakou scored his 12 points from behind the arc.

“There was no secret to beat AS Salé. We simply annulled their best player number 41 (Terrel Stoglin) who scores more than 30 points per game. Tonight, he finished with less than 20 points. That was huge for us,” Gakou said after the game.

AS Salé’s Ousmane Dramé was a headache for Petro for most of the 27:51 minutes that he spent on floor.

The Guinean international player had a 6-for-11 shooting to finish with 19 points and 13 rebounds

CAIRO, EGYPT - MAY 21: Drame Osmane #42 of the AS Salé dunks the ball during the game against the Clube Atlético Petroleos de Luanda on May 21, 2022 at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Armand Lenoir/NBAE via Getty Images)

“I thought they played better than us, they were in better shape; they seemed to be more organised than we were, and they had more time to prepare,” Dramé said.

“They shot really well from the three-point line. We didn’t expect that. The way they shot today, they can beat anybody.”

Terrel Stoglin added 19 points and Abdoulaye Harouna paced the AS Salé’s offence with a team-high of 20 points.

AS Salé trailed by nine in the opening quarter but they cut the deficit to four points (20-16).

Petro de Luanda’s aggressive defence early in the game forced Liz Mills’ team to turn the ball over four times in the opening quarter.

Although Petro de Luanda hit their largest lead of 28 points (80-52), things could have been totally different.

Dramé’s dunk, which was followed by a free-throw tied the game at 23-all early in the second.

Zakaria El Masbahi could have given AS Salé a lead, but the 43-year-old guard missed an apparent easy lay-up.

CAIRO, EGYPT - MAY 21: Zakaria El Masbahi #2 of the AS Salé drives to the basket during the game against the Clube Atlético Petroleos de Luanda on May 21, 2022 at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Armand Lenoir/NBAE via Getty Images)

Olimpio Cipriano capitalised from El Masbahi’s mistake to sink a mid-range shot that was followed by a 3-pt and AS Salé never threatened Petro again. Petro never trailed.

Petro’s new recruit Elbert Matthews hit a 3-pt (37-24) before Aboubacar Gakou buried another one for Petro’s biggest lead in the first half (44-28).

Eventually the Angolan champions headed to the locker room with a 50-35 lead.

The two-time African champions outscored AS Salé 30-17 in the third quarter to head to the final ten minutes with a 80-52 lead.

CAIRO, EGYPT - MAY 21: Abdoulay Stoglin #10 of the AS Salé drives to the basket during the game against the Clube Atlético Petroleos de Luanda on May 21, 2022 at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Armand Lenoir/NBAE via Getty Images)

Apparently impatient with the development of the game, Stoglin, who didn’t score a single point in the third quarter, tried to take the game on his own term, but he missed four straight shots.

And when things looked done and dusted for Petro, AS Salé cut the deficit to ten points (90-80) with five minutes left, but the Angolan team retook the lead to return to the BAL Semi-Finals for the time in a row.Petro de Luanda improved to 5-1 while AS Salé closed their 2022 BAL campaign with a 3-3 mark.