PRETORIA, South Africa -- Saturday's Basketball Africa League (BAL) final at the SunBet Arena will see the free-flowing, ruthlessly efficient Al Ahli Tripoli take on defending champions Petro de Luanda - masters of the smash-and-grab win.
It was once Petro who played the silky-smooth basketball, but always seemed to fall short when it mattered most. In the first three BAL seasons, the serial Angolan champions made the semi-finals, final, then semi-finals again. In the fourth season, they started poorly, but recovered after bringing Sergo Valdeolmillos in as head coach to replace José Neto.
After losing his first BAL match in charge - a seeding game against US Monastir - Valdeolmillos turned the ship around and Petro finally beat another Libyan opponent - Al Ahly Benghazi - to win their first championship.
Meanwhile, South Africa's Samkelo Cele stands a chance to become the first player from his country to win a BAL title, as his physicality will play a key role in Petro's potential title defence.
Petro's winding road to back-to-back finals
This season, Petro had an even bigger mountain to climb than last season. After going 3-3 in Dakar's Sahara Conference, including losing to a Kriol Star team that was missing three of their best players, they had some big decisions to make heading into the playoffs.
E.J. Anosike, who had only just been signed before the Sahara Conference was left out partially due to illness, as per the club - but interestingly, Petro did not bring in a like-for-like replacement. General Manager Hermenegildo Mbunga resolved to make up for small forward Anosike's absence "by committee" and instead brought in two guards.
Former Cape Town Tigers star, and New York Knicks Summer Leaguer, Cele's addition to the roster for the playoffs had long since been planned, and Petro also signed Kendrick Ray.
It took time to adjust, with Petro losing their seeding game 75-57 to Armée Patriotique Rwandaise and going 23-68 from field goal shooting.
However, the home crowd got behind Cele - the only South African in the playoffs - as Petro beat Monastir 95-84 in the quarter-finals and handed top seed Al Ittihad their first loss of the season in the semis with a 96-74 upset.
Petro became the first team to make back-to-back BAL finals and to make three over the course of their history. Solo Diabaté became the first to qualify for a fourth time and with a fourth different club. He could additionally become the first ever to win a third BAL championship.
Cele, meanwhile, became the first South African ever to make it to a BAL final. Commenting on why he had always believed in the team, Cele told ESPN: "We're a great group of guys that believe.
"It starts in the locker room - we all believe. We have a chance to [deliver a second straight championship]. We're here."
Explaining to ESPN how Petro had managed in back-to-back seasons to peak at the right time, fellow guard Childe Dundão said: "We are a warriors' team, like I've said in the past... We're going to fight in the final."
Al Ahli Tripoli: The Team of 100
The 'Warriors' Team' will come up against Al Ahli Tripoli, which has become known as the 'Team of 100' for their consistent offensive performances, featuring five 100+ point offensive performances and a BAL record 115 points in their 115-87 win over Nairobi City Thunder.
Debutants Tripoli, the second seed for the playoffs, are 8-1 this season, making them substantial favourites against a 5-4 Petro side.
They suffered their only loss in the seeding game against Ittihad, while also adjusting to a new lineup following the acquisition of Fabian White Jr. in place of Deon Thompson. Head coach Fouad Abou Chacra had also given center Assem Marei the day off as he joined up with the team late for the playoffs after extra family time.
Marei - who joined up with the team late in the Nile Conference in Kigali after finishing his season in South Korea and winning the championship with Changwon LG Sakers - has joined White Jr. in giving an already impressive team additional energy.
This has helped them to a quarter-final win over Kriol Star and semi-final success against APR in a game which was tightly fought until the fourth quarter, but they ultimately triumphed in 84-71 thanks to their deep bench.
Another key to their success this season has been Jean-Jacques Boissy. Reduced to tears after AS Douanes lost the 2023 final to Egypt's Al Ahly, he is back in the championship decider for a second time in three years and arguably in the peak shape of his career.
Boissy has been coming off the bench in the first quarter and usually doing most of his damage to the opposition from the second onwards. Averaging 19.7 points per game, he is the league's second-highest scorer this season and the highest of any player who has made the playoffs. The league's leading scorer, Teafale Lenard Jr., failed to qualify with South Africa's Made By Ball (MBB).
Beyond being physically stronger than before, Boissy has also made a change to his mentality. "I've been close to it, but I've changed my mindset from just focusing on the championship," Boissy told ESPN in the mixed zone after the seeding game defeat to Ittihad.
"Every day, I'm just trying to focus on the next day. That's where my focus is - I don't want the long vision about the whole tournament. That always happened to me and it just broke my heart. Now, every game I go into, I just try to win that game," he said.
Now one game from the championship yet again, Boissy will be looking to finish the job on Saturday in a 4pm tip-off. If Ahli Tripoli win, it will be the first time a Libyan side lifts the championship.
They are a stronger roster on paper than last season's Ahly Benghazi side - which had a strong starting five but lacked depth. However, even the Team of 100 cannot take perpetual party-poopers Petro for granted in a game where they, better than anybody else in this tournament, have learned firsthand what to do.