Petro de Luanda reach BAL semis for fifth time in a row, APR also through

Thanks to Patrick Gardner's lethal plays, Petro de Luanda reached the semifinals of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) for the fifth consecutive season with their 95-84 win against US Monastir at SunBet Arena in Pretoria on Monday night.

No other team in the league's history has reached such a milestone.

The Angolan champions needed to bounce back from their loss in the seeding game to APR two days earlier. Beating Monastir, the Tunisian side they had lost to three times in their previous four encounters, was essential.

Monastir and Petro traded blows early in the game. However, when the reigning champions used a 12-0 scoring run to close the opening quarter with a 12-point lead (28-16), there was little the 2022 BAL champions could do to retake the lead.

Gardner shot 5-for-9 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from deep, to finish with 14 points. His teammate Kendrick Ray led all players in scoring with 20 points.

Yanick Moreira was dominant in the paint, finishing with 15 points and five rebounds, despite picking up three early fouls. This forced Petro coach Sergio Moreno to protect Moreira from an early exclusion from the game.

Gardner’s two consecutive three-pointers in the first quarter paved the way for Petro’s control of the game.

And, limiting the Tunisian giants’ actions on both ends of the floor by forcing Acuil Deng, Babacar Sane and Osiris Eldridge into foul trouble early on was key for Petro.

Sane caused Petro de Luanda some discomfort on offence and finished with 14 points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.

Monastir were eliminated in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season, while Petro, who they defeated in the 2022 BAL Final, remain in contention.

Patrick Hardy Jnr and Firas Lahyani combined for 32 points for US Monastir, but Petro's aggressiveness and sense of urgency on both ends of the floor were tough to deal with.

Childe Dundao, who played only five minutes off the bench in Petro’s 75-57 loss to APR, was one of three new starters, with Samkelo Cele and Patrick Gardner.

Dundao shot 3-for-6, including 2-for-4 from behind the arc, and finished with 10 points and six assists.

He told BAL.NBA.com: “This Petro de Luanda team is a group of warriors and everyone knows our goal for this BAL season. We can’t afford to get comfortable. We will keep fighting no matter the circumstances.

“We can't be judged solely on our loss in the seeding game. To bounce back, we needed to lock in defensively, which is what we did to beat Monastir.”

Petro face Egyptian side Al Ittihad Alexandria in the later of the two semifinals on Wednesday (7pm).

Dundao shared his thoughts on the Egyptian champions, saying: “Al Ittihad is a good team, but we have a goal to accomplish. We're taking it one game at a time.”

For the second time in the history of the BAL, a Rwandan team has reached the semifinals, APR beating Rivers Hoopers 104—73 in Monday’s earlier quarterfinal.

Patriots Basketball Club was the first Rwandan team to reach the last four in the inaugural BAL season in 2021.

The Rwandan champions displayed complete dominance from start to finish and never trailed, registering the largest winning margin in the 2025 playoffs.

They became the second team to cross the 100-point mark after Al Ahli Tripoli outscored Kriol Star 107- 81.

APR played aggressively on defence and efficiently on offence, taking a 25-point lead (57-32) at half time.

The Rwandan side meet Al Ahli Tripoli in Wednesday’s earlier semifinal (4pm).

Basketball Africa League