The turnaround came in the final moments of the match, which was played on Monday night.
According to a note from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, to which VerAngola had access, after losing by a difference of 20 points, Petro "demonstrated resilience and determination to guarantee victory in the final moments of the game".
According to Angop, Nicholas Faust, a North American winger hired by Petro on purpose for this competition, was decisive in the match, by 'scoring' the three points that allowed the score to be tied almost at the end, as well as the two points that gave victory for the tricolor emblem.
The start of the match seemed to be in favor of Petro, who took the lead in the first quarter (13-8). The advantage remained at the half-time whistle, with the 'tricolores' winning by a difference of three points (28-25).
In the third quarter of the match, AS Douanes gained ground and tied at 28 points, and from then on remained afloat on the scoreboard.
Finding themselves in a complicated scenario, where they were losing by a difference of 20 points, Petro de Luanda managed to turn things around and with a triple from Nicholas Faust, they tied on 64 points, just 38 seconds before the final whistle, according to Angop.
Although everything pointed to Petro being left out of the competition, the 'tricolores' were resilient and in the final moments of the match managed to achieve victory by a difference of just one point.
With this achievement, Petro de Luanda advances to the semi-finals of the BAL, whose game is scheduled for Wednesday against the Cape Town Tigers from South Africa.
Petro de Luanda's top scorer in this Monday's game was Nicholas Faust, who scored 13 points, as well as making two rebounds and two assists. According to Angop, Yanick Moreira was also in the spotlight, scoring nine points, nine rebounds and three assists, as well as Markeith Cummings (nine points, four rebounds and one assist) and Glofate Buiamba (eight points, three rebounds and five assists).
It should be noted that in BAL's history, Petro won third place in 2021, second in 2022 and fourth last year.
