Petro shock Al Ittihad to reach BAL final

This was Al Ittihad’s first loss this season in the BAL, having reached the finals unbeaten until last night. The Angolan champions, who had lost their opening playoffs game, will now face All Ahli Tripoli from Libya in the final. 

Assistant coach Jorge Elorduy explains how they turned the situation around.

"We are really happy with our performance, it was the kind of game we had to win, and I'm glad we could showcase our skills and our identity," said the happy coach. 

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Petro had the crowd on its feet throughout this game, and with South Africa’s Samkelo Cele on their side, Patrick Gardner says the crowd was key in driving them in this game.

"We were feeding off the energy from the crowd because they were immense. We just wanted to make all of our Petro fans from around the world really proud," said the talented player.

Kendrick Ray was at his usual best and once again and led all the scorers with 21 points, but Elorduy says what is important is the work of the team.

"It was an excellent individual performance from him, that the team really needed in this match, but I'm happy with the effort everyone in the team provided."

Another player who shone brightly in this game for Petro was Aboubacar Gakou with 17 points, and Cele had 10 points next to his name. 

Reaching the final is special for Cele, since it’s the first time that he’s reached this level.

"It's my first time reaching this level, so I feel great, and I'm very excited for Saturday. 

"In this match, we came out very positively and aggressively, and everything else took care of itself," said the South African.