After a tough battle against the South Africans in the semi-finals, whose match was only decided after extra time (96-86), the Angolan representatives in the African competition now recover for the last clash, which will also take place in Kigali, Rwanda.
On an emotional level, the competitive experiences experienced in the race strengthened the group, believes Sergio Valdeolmillos. Technically and tactically, the oil coach highlights the emphasis on defensive solidity as the best guarantee of the team's competitive power and quality, which will allow him to control the course of events on the court, he said, in the aftermath of the semi-final.
“The game was more or less how we wanted to take it, from the beginning. Our defensive level remains high and this allows us to control the incidents of the match. Our defensive rebound was also solid. From there we were able to come out with very quick transitions,” he said.
In attack, the work to improve the percentages of effectiveness of the throws is having an effect and the players' adaptation to the coach's ideas and the particularities of the competition itself is also flowing, added the person responsible for the team.
In this way, the coach believes that all these factors, associated with the natural motivation of winning the title of African champions, are "enough reason" for the five tricolors to overcome the challenge of extending their achievements to the continent.
“Optimistic and irreverent”, Valdeolmillos highlights above all the positive moment the squad is experiencing: “Every day we have improved the attack a little. In the previous game, the most important thing for me was the participation of multiple players. And everyone brought relevant contributions to the team, which is always difficult. Emotionally we are well and physically we maintain good levels for Saturday's game, with every guarantee of being able to compete in a final at a good level, to try to win, which is our purpose”, he concluded.
The BAL final will take place on Saturday, June 1st, at 4pm (3pm in Luanda) at the BK Arena Pavilion, in Kigali, Rwanda. Petro de Luanda faces Al Ahly Ly, from Libya. Remember that in 2021, at the competition's debut, Petro did not go beyond third place. The following year they secured the final but lost, against US Monastir, placing second. In 2023, the five-time champions were in fourth place.
