Nicholas Faust hit a three-point shot to tie the game at 64-64 with 40 seconds left to spare.
Petro de Luanda were 20 points down with seven minutes to spare and despaired of getting a triumph, however, Nicholas Faust stepped up and capped a mammoth comeback as the Angolan franchise progressed to the BAL 2024 semi-finals with a 66-65 quarter-final win over AS Douanes on Monday night.
Faust hit a three-point shot to tie the contest at 64-64 with 40 seconds left before rounding off the comeback with a layup and propelling his side to the huge victory.
The American player was Petro de Luanda’s leading scorer with 13 points. Petro de Luanda, who had fired a blank in the previous three BAL seasons, will square off against South Africa’s Cape Town Tigers in the semi-finals on Wednesday, 29 May, at 8 p.m.
“Tonight, it was a crazy game, and I’m happy that we showed the heart that we have. This is Petro’s identity, the game is over when it’s over, we play hard until the game is over, that’s what we did tonight,” Carlos Morais said in a post-game press conference.
“For us to win this competition, we have got to think the game, but also we have to play with our heart?”
Nicholas Faust scored a layup that sealed a 66-65 win for Petro de Luanda.
The 2022 runner-up had the upper hand in the first two quarters, heading to the halftime break with a three-point advantage, but they crumbled in the third quarter, trailing 56-42 at the end of it.
AS Douanes, the 2023 BAL runner-up, handled the final quarter clumsily, grabbing only nine points compared to Petro de Luanda’s 24.
Jean Jacques Boissy was the man to keep an eye on as the Senegalese point guard chipped in a game-high 28 points and 8 rebounds, though it wasn’t enough for AS Douanes to snatch the sought-after win.
“I really feel bad because we went to the final last year, but we couldn’t get to the final this year. Our goal was to win the championship, so I feel bad for the whole country, the whole team, and for everybody not just for myself because I know it’s easy for a basketball player to get up the next day,” said Boissy.
Harouna Abdoulaye and Mike Fofana added 15 and 11 points for the Senegalese outfit, respectively.
William Perry steals limelight as Rivers Hoopers beat US Monastir
William Perry stole the limelight by contributing 33 points, five rebounds, and five assists to give Rivers Hoopers a 92-88 triumph over US Monastir in their Monday’s quarter-final clash at BK Arena. Peter Olisemeka and Kelvin Amayo added 18 points apiece.
“He’s a great player and a great team leader, he pushes us and everyone responds as well. We play as a unit it’s not just Perry, we feel each other’s energy,” Olisemeka, who dropped a game-high 12 rebounds, talked about Perry in a post-game press conference.
William Perry fired Rivers Hoopers to semi-finals with a game-high 33 points.
Rivers Hoopers will take on Libya’s Al Ahly on 29 May in their first-ever semi-final appearance in the BAL.
US Monastir made the most of their bench, scoring 21 points over the Nigerian team’s four, but that was not sufficient for them to secure a semi-final spot.
It was the second time in a row for the 2022 BAL champions to be shockingly eliminated in the competition, following their shattering group-stage exit in 2023.
Chris Crawford scored the most points for the Tunisian side as the American combo guard sank 31 points and dished out nine assists. Crawford, who has featured in all four BAL seasons but has yet to chalk up the title, was visibly upset after the game.
I honestly don’t know if I will be back in the BAL,” Chris Crawford said in a post-game press conference.
