Who will pick the last two semifinal tickets?

If Sunday's quarterfinals are anything to go by, then get the popcorn ready for Monday's games at the BK Arena in Kigali!

Four contenders, all with an equal chance of reaching the semi-finals, will compete for the final two places.

Dar City and Al Ahly Ly won their first-round quarter-final games against Petro de Luanda and Club Africain respectively, but who will progress to the semi-finals?

This is probably the most unpredictable second round yet, but one thing is certain: there will be no shortage of breathtaking moments.

Al Ahly Ly won by a narrow margin on Saturday night with a score of 88–87, while BAL debutantes Dar City stunned former champions Petro de Luanda 88–82.

On Sunday, the teams that had lost in the first round of the quarterfinals turned things around by winning their games. Al Ahly SC kept their hopes alive by overcoming a three-point deficit to eliminate ASC Ville de Dakar 87–76.

FUS Rabat needed to win by at least 24 points to progress, but despite leading by as many as 21 points at one stage, they only won by one (99–98). RSSB advanced despite the loss. 

What will Monday's decisive second round of the quarterfinals bring? Read on!

Al Ahly Ly vs Club Africain (Monday, 25 May) – 16:00 local time

Al Ahly Libya may feel confident due to the possible return of Jo Lual Acuil, who sat out the first game of the series due to injury.

“When Lual comes back, we are going to have a very strong frontline. Majok [Deng] is long, he is a great shooter, gets defensive rebounds, he is a team player,” Al Ahly Ly head coach Fotios Katsikaris acknowledged.

Another factor boosting the Libyan champions’ morale is their consistent offensive and defensive performance.

Club Africain, on the other hand, may also feel positive about their increased three-point scoring, which improved from nine per game during the conference to 12 against Al Ahly in the first round of the play-offs. 

Although they lost the first game of the series, Club Africain had a higher field-goal percentage than Al Ahly Ly (44% vs. 42%), but missed six of their 21 free throws.

The Tunisian side should focus on improving their shooting inside the paint, which is the lowest among all twelve teams this season (16 made per game). In contrast, Al Ahly Ly's average of 26 is the second highest after Petro's this season.

The Club Africain duo of Omar Abada and Oussama Marnaoui have reached this stage of the competition before and could be vital to Antonio Cainzo’s team. If Aminu Mohamed finds his rhythm and Jesse Jones reduces his turnover rating, this match could be very close.

Al Ahly Ly’s bench needs to be more productive. They have been outscored by their opponents’ reserves in three of their six games so far.

WHAT THEY NEED TO DO ADVANCE

- If Al Ahly Ly win or the game is tied, they will advance to the semifinal. 
- If Club Africain win by more than 2 points, they will advance to the semifinal.

Dar City vs. Petro de Luanda (Monday, 25 May) – 19:00 local time

Petro de Luanda's tendency to struggle to finish games when leading by single digits in the final moments should have been resolved by now. This has been happening for far too long.

More often than not, when they reach the final stages at a reachable distance, they falter, and this situation was exemplified in Saturday’s 88-82 loss to Dar City. 

The Tanzanians used a 15-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter to win 88-82.

Michael Foster was brilliant, shooting 7-for-7 from the floor, including two consecutive three-pointers. Dar City capitalised heavily on Petro’s six turnovers in the fourth quarter. 

If Petro de Luanda are to stay afloat in this series, they will need to find a way to counter David Michineau’s playmaking skills. 

Michineau did not play in the previous meeting between the two teams in Pretoria in March, and he caught Petro de Luanda off guard with his eight assists. 

Dar City's Achilles heel is undoubtedly their bench, which was outscored 61–19 in their first playoff clash during the Kalahari Conference, and again on Saturday night, 51–16.

WHAT THEY NEED TO DO TO ADVANCE

- If Dar City win or lose by 5 points or less, they will advance to the semifinal. 
- If Petro de Luanda win by 6 points or more, they will advance to the semifinal.

BAL