PRETORIA, South Africa -- Defending Basketball Africa League (BAL) champions Petro de Luanda became the first team ever to make a second straight final as they upset top seed Al Ittihad 96-74 in the semi-finals.
The win, which was somewhat of an upset against the previously-unbeaten Egyptians, especially with the large margin, set up a final showdown with Al Ahli Tripoli on Saturday.
Ittihad headed into the match up with an 8-0 record for the season, while Petro entered the game with a less than ideal 4-4, but Petro won their championship last year after a difficult start and there had been signs in this year's quarter-final win over third seed US Monastir that a repeat could be on the cards.
Solo Diabaté will become the first player to play in four BAL finals - having now qualified with all four of the clubs he has represented in the league (Zamalek, US Monastir, Al Ahly Benghazi and now Petro, who he previously made the semi-finals with in his last stint at the club).
Perhaps more pertinently for the Pretoria crowd, Samkelo Cele will become the first South African to play in a BAL final - having almost led the Cape Town Tigers into one last year and been denied by this very same Petro juggernaut in the semis.
The first quarter was a relatively even affair, with 2024 BAL MVP Jo Lual-Acuil the leader for Ittihad with nine first quarter points and Patrick Gardner having a similarly significant impact for Petro with eight points and four rebounds in Q1.
Petro dominated the first five minutes of the second quarter, with local player Samkelo Cele drawing huge cheers from the South African fans as he found his feet in the game and played a vital role in helping the defending champions move 41-27 ahead.
An 11-0 run led by South Sudanese-Australian trio Majok Deng, Deng Deng and Lual-Acuil led Ittihad back into contention. Still, Petro led 45-40 at the half-time break.
Petro were quickest out of the blocks once again in the third quarter, extending their lead to 52-40 as Ittihad squandered several opportunities. Abdelhady Elrai Metwaly eventually knocked down a three, but a huge block from Cleusio Castro on Deng Deng halted Ittihad's momentum.
While Ittihad were struggling to score, shots were falling for Kendrick Ray at the other end as he extended Petro's lead back to 14 points with a three-point jumpshot. Time was of the essence for Ittihad and Kyle Vinales charged down the floor and went for the driving layup, but Petro captain Yanick Moreira made a superb block.
When Childe Dundão nailed a three-pointer to extend Petro's lead to 64-47, panic was starting to set in among the Ittihad players with around three minutes to go in the third quarter. Cele's two free throws stretched the lead even further, but Ittihad reduced the deficit to 67-52 heading into the final quarter.
Although Ittihad made some big shots in the fourth quarter, they could not prevent Petro from doing the same. Chants of 'Let's go, Petro' reverberated around the SunBet Arena as a giant was toppled and history was made. Ray finished as the top scorer with 21 points.
Ittihad will face Rwanda's Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) in Friday's third-place playoff in a 7pm SAST tip-off before Petro face Al Ahli Tripoli in the final on Saturday at 4pm.