PHOTOS: BAL 2023: AS Douanes end Petro de Luanda’s unbeaten run, advance to final

Wednesday As Douanes 92-86 Petro de Luanda Senegalese side AS Douanes became the first team to advance to the 2023 Basketball Africa League (BAL) final after upsetting Angola's Petro de Luanda 92-86 in the semi-finals on Wednesday at BK Arena. The Senegalese champions were pre-game underdogs before an Angolan side that was regarded by many as pre-playoffs favorites to win the championship. It, however, didn't stop the Sahara Conference runners-up to open up an 11-4 run in the early minutes of the game, a lead that would be maintained to have 20-19 in the first quarter and 29-26 in the second quarter to go into half-time with a 49-45 lead. It was all about respecting my players and encouraging them to go as far as possible,” said AS Douanes' Mamadou Gueye, adding, “We were locked on defense from the start. Back in the second half, Senegalese captain Alkaly Ndour, shooting-guard Chris Crawford and Jean Jacques Boissy formed an extraordinary combination that helped the team dominate the third quarter with 20-18 despite having 23-23 in the fourth for both teams. “Like coach said, defense was tonight’s weapon. I always want to defend the best players on a team and tonight I delivered on that. Petro is a good team, and has good stars,” said Boissy in a post-match press conference. “Sometimes people could be complaining about others not believing, but that is not who we are. We are proud of those who support and believe in us,” he added. AS Douanes Point Guard Jean Jacques Boissy led the way with a team-high of 28 points, shooting-guard Chris Crawford added 26 points and Matthew Bryan-Amaning contributed 14 points.

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PHOTOS: BAL 2023: AS Douanes end Petro de Luanda’s unbeaten run, advance to final