PRETORIA, South Africa -- Saturday was another dismal day for defending Basketball Africa League (BAL) champions Petro de Luanda, who suffered their fourth defeat of the season 75-57 against Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR).
As a result, APR secured the fifth seed at the BAL playoffs and will face the loser of the late game between US Monastir and Rivers Hoopers. Petro, the sixth seed, will play the winners.
Both teams came into the game off the back of going 3-3 at their respective conferences - Petro at Dakar's Sahara Conference and APR at their home Nile Conference in Kigali.
After a sloppy start from both sides, Samkelo Cele - the only South African player in the playoffs - came off the bench with Petro 9-8 down. He immediately changed the game with a rebound at one end and a driving layup at the other.
By the end of the first quarter, he had 7 points as Petro led 19-11. Cele would ultimately finish the game with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in 25:07 on the floor.
APR found their rhythm in the second quarter, with the depth of their roster showing following Aliou Diarra's recovery from injury and the acquisition of 2023 BAL MVP Nuni Omot. A trademark Diarra dunk gave APR a 25-23 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the half.
APR had momentum and carried it into a 37-28 lead at one point, but a three-pointer from Rigoberto Mendoza and a layup from Kendrick Ray saw Petro reduce the deficit to 37-33 by half-time.
The third quarter was mostly one-way traffic, with Diarra continuing his dominance, Omot finding some of his best form and Youssou Ndoye posing problems for Petro in the paint. APR led 61-46 heading into the final quarter.
Petro were unable to find a way back in the fourth quarter, even with a few bright moments from Cele. Ultimately, the Angolan side's shooting let them down once again. They went 23-68 from field goal shooting.
APR were only marginally better at 24-62, but Diarra's 19 points, 14 rebounds and 2 steals were instrumental in seeing them to the win.
APR's Obadiah Noel paid tribute to Diarra in the mixed zone, saying: "The things he does are incredible. He's so dominant at both sides of the floor.
"To have him back healthy is a game-changer, because the last two games in Rwanda, he wasn't [fully recovered from his injury]."