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The 2022 season of BAL returned with interesting matchups in the playoffs. Kigali was livened up with a weekend of hoops and swishes in games where 3-pointers lit up spectators.
The four semifinal qualified teams, registered a total of 50 completed ‘threes’ while faulting opponents were 24 threes short. REG and AS Sale, despite the weight of their opponents, might be the most disappointed of the four teams which missed out on the semifinal.
Coach, Liz Mills, who witnessed her team’s suffering from behind the arc, was left disappointed with a lack of proactiveness in defence.
“You know you can’t play defence with four players. It doesn’t matter how good you are in scoring and rebounding offensively. If we have five guys who want to play defense that will be a different story right now.
“It comes down to what we as a team is willing to sacrifice and put on the line. We talked about defence for two weeks, talked about it in Senegal (Sahara Conference) and for me that is where we lost the game.”
And it is a fact which is pretty undebatable because AS Sale’s potential could matchup Petro in scoring, and even with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, AS Sale managed to cut their deficit to 10, before ultimately succumbing to a 102-89 defeat.
BAL 2022 Playoffs: AS Salé face stern Petro de Luanda challenge
3-pointers were also the undoing of REG, albeit in different fashion. Robert Pack, REG head coach, was unimpressed with his side’s haste to take shots from outside the arc when they were chasing the game.
“We didn’t have to live off threes. It was tempting. You got the ball in the hands of good three-point shooters and they kept taking wide open looks. It wasn’t just our night. We talked about going to the basket. Those threes presented themselves, but it wasn’t necessary. We didn’t handle the pressure in some situations well. We didn’t make the simple plays. We did things that weren’t necessary.”
Yes perhaps REG and Sale could have probably done things better, but now is not the moment for a quarterfinal review however, as four teams are into the semis of BAL’s second season. Forces Armees et Police Basketball (FAP), who face Petro are debutants, while Zamalek and US Monastir make a return.
This semifinal stage could be where history ends for the all-impressive FAP, and US Monastir and Zamalek head into the game of the weekend.
Cases for the semifinals – Petro v FAP Yaounde
This is not meant to serve as disrespect, but FAP are definitely the weakest of the four teams in this year’s semis. A 2-3 record from the group phase is a vivid picture of their strength, but a resolute performance versus Rwanda’s REG in Kigali should be respected.
Respect? Definitely Petro will provide, but not too much of it though, as they will be eager to do better than a third-place finish in BAL’s inaugural year. The Angolan side rose up to the challenge and outperformed AS Sale, who had a better field goal percentage heading into the quarters.
They recorded 51.5% versus Sale who underperformed after recording 46.16% in the conference. Petro had only was 40.74% in the group phase. It was a case of making sure they outscored Sale who were armored with BAL’s best shooting guard, Terrel Stoglin, and they did just that.
FAP on the other hand, are not impressive scorers, only ever going beyond the 70-points mark once – in the win over Cobra Sports. But they also scored 70 points in their defeat to Cape Town Tigers (70-73). Petro’s lowest point tally meanwhile, was 72 versus Zamalek and they recently recorded their highest-scoring BAL game in the quarterfinal victory over Sale.
Meaning to stand any chance of semifinal progress, FAP are going to put up a defensive performance of their lives, and defending is what they do. Joel Almeida, who averages the second most steals in this season’s BAL, will be crucial to their hopes. Ulrich Chomche is also amongst this season’s players averaging the most blocks.
FAP center, Tyjhai Byers was clear and straightforward in his assessment of his side’s chances after the REG victory.
“I think the first order of business is that we’re going to have to play defence. Everything starts with the defence and that’s what FAP is known for, that’s what we pride ourselves on.”
That prided defense is built around Brice Bidias and Cedric Kenfack who average the team’s most defensive rebounds – 5.0 and 4.0 respectively. Kenfack also recorded the most defensive rebounds when these two teams met in the group stage.
Meanwhile Tyjhai Byers who averages 4.2 offensive rebounds (a team-high), will need to be strong in Petro’s key to mop up missed shot attempts.
Carlos Morais, who put Sale to the sword in the quarters, will be FAP’s biggest offensive threat, but threat of equal measure could also come from Childe Dundao and Aboubacar Gakou. But Bilde, Deshaun Morman, Kenfack and Alexis Wangmene are also arsenal available to FAP.
However it is very unlikely for the Cameroonians to outscore the Angolans, who did a very good job at neutralising the firepower of BAL’s best shooting guard, Stoglin in the quarters.
Case for semifinals – Zamalek v US Monastir
Perhaps, there is no reason to go through this matchup because Zamalek are the cruelest of opponents to go through for a BAL final place. A 12-0 record spanning two seasons of BAL, paints the sort of challenge Monastir have on their hands.
Scoring is not an issue for this team really, with Edgar Sosa, Ike Diogu and Anas Mahmoud, putting up stellar numbers. But versus Cape Town, they did not reflect the Zamalek of Bal, and ended up putting up their least-scoring game (66-49) in the competition, and they are aware of their underperformance.
“Tonight wasn’t the prettiest game, but the good thing is that we came up with the win and we are advancing,” Sosa said after their 12th straight win in the competition.
US Monastir are no easy team to face and will definitely be seeking revenge after last year’s final defeat to the Egyptians. Their sole defeat came against REG in the group phase where they had a 4-1 record and despite being slight underdogs, they will have room to meander through the Egyptians.
SLAC won more rebounds than Zamalek, the third time they have been outrebounded this season, and that should be a gap Monastir should look to use. In that vein, Monastir possess a trump card in James Majok who averages a season high, 12.5 rebounds per game. However, it could be a risky approach as Sosa can be a threat from beyond the arc.
And despite Zamalek underperforming versus SLAC, the shooting guard finished the game with the second most points (13) behind teammate, Moustafa Kejo (14), and that is testament to Zamalek’s threat.
In all of Zamalek’s victories, they have dominated the shooting statistics (three-points attempted and made), and limiting the time and space Zamalek have outside the paint, will be key to a Monastir win. Majok also averages the season’s second best most blocks per game.
And after Zamalek coach, Will Voigt revealed that his BAL squad have not played any game together since April’s Nile Conference, Monastir, who have played more games as a unit since the Sahara Conference, might have an advantage especially as this semifinal is a one-off game.
To add insult to injury, Ike Diogu will also miss out with injury, meaning Zamalek are going to have to dig deeper as Monastir have their full squad probably chasing revenge.
Too close to call, this one, but Zamalek might just do enough from outside the paint to record a second consecutive BAL final appearance.
Source: myJoy
