THERE IS A B.A.L UNFINISHED BUSINESS FOR JONE PEDRO

Jone Pedro has entered the history books as one of the top performers in the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) season, but he feels that he can achieve a lot more in the league.

Pedro averaged 10.3 rebounds per game (the highest among players with four or more BAL games in Season One). He also averaged 11 points in six games. In short, the 6’10” center was fundamental for Petro de Luanda’s Third-Place accomplished in May 2021 in Kigali.

And with Season Two of the BAL just due to start in March in Dakar, Pedro remains upbeat about the Angolan champions’ chances, but he also stresses that this year’s BAL could be a lot more competitive as “teams should have learned from the past.”

“In theory, Petro might seem better and stronger than most of those teams, but that’s not how I perceive the BAL. If you underestimate a team, you pay the price,” Pedro said in an exclusive interview with the BAL.
“We needed to bring our A-Game every time we stepped on the court,” he detailed on how Petro finished 5-1 in the league last year.

Talking about his eye-catching display in Kigali, the Angolan international player admitted that it was one of his best performances. “I felt great, motivated, inspired. It was the result of many years of hard work. Obviously, I can improve even more as a player.”

The BAL, Pedro noted, has revealed the unheard and unknown basketball talents spread across Africa and beyond.

“I had never heard of some of the teams that featured in Kigali last year, but seeing them play at such high-level made me realize the untapped basketball talent on the continent.” The Angolan champions started their BAL campaign with a four-game winning streak, which included two highly-contested victories against Morocco’s Association Sportive de Salé, but, “one bad game [an 89-71 defeat to eventual champions Zamalek in the Semi-Finals]” as Pedro put it, “was enough to ruin our BAL expectations.

“It wasn’t all bad, though. We brought home the Third-Place award,” Pedro explained. But can Petro de Luanda do better than it did in 2021?
“We are coming back this year looking to erase mistakes from the past. We are bringing almost the same squad. So we’re ready to suffer to be successful,” Pedro replied.

Asked to name a favorite team to lift the BAL 2022 trophy, Pedro admitted that “Zamalek is great. They showed discipline, maturity and capitalized on our mistakes. So, along with Petro de Luanda, they rank among the favorite teams to win it, in my opinion.”

“Unlike Season One, this time around, teams know what to expect, and I am sure all teams will bring the best squads they can. Teams that adopt the best attitude will win the trophy. It’s going to be a dogfight; it will be all about attitude.”

And what lessons has Pedro taken from the BAL Season One?

“I have been a professional basketball for many years, and BAL [season One] was an incredible experience at many levels: Quality teams, exceptional players, and high standard organization. That’s what African basketball needs to progress.” Media outlets in Angolan have linked former BAL MVP Walter Hodge with Petro de Luanda.

“At this stage, I know as much as everybody else about these rumors of a potential signing of Walter Hodges. He is a real leader on the floor. He shares the ball when he has to; he is vocal when the team needs guidance, and his playmaking is almost unmatched. A real talent, I believe,” Pedro said.

When asked about the current state of Angolan basketball in recent time, which has seen national teams (Men and Women) dropping in FIBA rankings, Pedro replied: “We can’t compare modern basketball in Africa to what it was 20, 10, or even 5 years ago. The game in Africa continues to evolve rapidly. We are not short of talents in Angola, it’s just the fact that other nations are investing in basketball more seriously than they did years ago.

“We love sports in Angola, but we are a basketball-loving country. So basketball will always be at the heart of our sports lives. Angola could still be a dominant force in African basketball, but need to review our management and investments to the game,” Pedro pointed out.