- Petro de Luanda defeated Al Ahly Ly 94–88 to secure a place in the BAL 2026 final against RSSB Tigers.
- The sixth edition of the Basketball Africa League playoffs and finals is being held at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
- Petro de Luanda will face home side RSSB Tigers in Sunday’s May 31 final, while Al Ahly Ly will take on Egypt’s Al Ahly SC in the third-place game.
Petro de Luanda pulled off a sensational fourth-quarter comeback to edge past Al Ahly Ly 94-88, sealing their third consecutive and fourth overall Basketball Africa League final appearance in six seasons.
The Angolan champs reached the BAL final in 2022, 2024, 2025, and now in 2026, where they have set up a thrilling title showdown against hosts and debutants RSSB Tigers on Sunday, May 31, at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Libyan champions controlled most of the opening three quarters on Thursday night, but when Gerson Goncalves and Cleusio Castro executed a flawless pick-and-roll in the paint, Castro finished with a thunderous two-handed dunk to hand Petro de Luanda a 75–73 lead with 7:13 remaining, and they never looked back.
“I am overjoyed and lost for words by the team’s effort in securing the win, but I must also congratulate Al Ahly Libya on their performance and the pressure they put us under. Making it to the BAL Final three years in a row is never easy because there are so many high-quality teams and players. Our next task is to study the Tigers, who are a great team,” Castro said after the game.
Petro de Luanda defeat Al Ahly Ly to secure BAL 2026 final against RSSB Tigers
Petro rolled out a different starting lineup for the third time in the 2026 BAL Playoffs. Even so, out of the ten Petro players who saw the floor, eight scored four points or more.
The Benghazi-based outfit entered this semifinal as the season’s highest-scoring side. They were riding a five-game winning streak and had everything in their hands to return to the BAL for the first time since 2024. But Petro de Luanda proved too tough to crack.
Although Al Ahly Ly once led by double digits, Petro’s defensive tweaks held them to just 88 points – their lowest output of the season.
Donovan Williams was a one-man show for Al Ahly Libya, shooting 9-for-16, including 4-for-9 from deep, to finish with a game-high 30 points. Charlie Moore added 20 for the Libyan side, while Majok Deng was limited to 10.
Petro looked totally out of sorts in the opening quarter, coughing up ten turnovers in the first half alone- largely thanks to Al Ahly Libya’s aggressive, disciplined defense. They ended with 17 giveaways.
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Al Ahly won the rebounding battle (32–30) and led for 29:39 of the 40-minute regulation.
However, their bench struggled to shift the momentum, getting outscored 49–15. Raphiael Putney came off the pine to chip in 14 points for the victors with a flurry of lethal shots.
The 5-foot-7 Dundao drilled three straight three-pointers in the first quarter to bring Petro back from a 10-point hole. He finished the contest with 26 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the floor.
Goncalves served as Petro’s primary playmaker, dishing out 10 assists while adding 23 points of his own.
Petro de Luanda will face the home team, RSSB Tigers, in Sunday’s final, while Al Ahly Ly will take on Egypt’s Al Ahly SC in the third-place game.
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