PRETORIA, South Africa, Apr 4 – After securing a 100-75 victory over Tanzania’s Dar City on Friday night, Angola champions Petro de Luanda joined the RSSB Tigers of Rwanda in clinching the Basketball Africa League (BAL) season 6 Kalahari Conference playoff spots.
The unbeaten Tigers qualified with two games in hand after winning all their opening three matches against Al Ahly Ly of Libya, Petro de Luanda, and the home team, Johannesburg Giants.
The Rwandese Super Cup champions will face fellow East African neighbors Dar City (today, Saturday) and Nairobi City Thunder (on the last day, Sunday) in their remaining games.
The Tigers managed by Tanzanian Henry Mwinuka were the surprise package of the tournament after being a late replacement for the titans and regulars, APR.
And for Petro de Luanda, the 2024 BAL champions, they overcame a slow start that saw them lose to the Tigers to qualify to the playoffs for the sixth time in a row.
Despite losing three out of four of its games, Kenya’s Nairobi City Thunder is still in contention for the two slots available alongside Al Ahly, Ly, Dar City, and Johannesburg Giants.
In these scenarios, Thunder must beat Tigers by a huge margin in their remaining game and hope Dar loses to the Rwandan side, while Al Ahly Ly loses to the Johannesburg Giants.
The Playoffs will be held in May, returning to Kigali, Rwanda.
-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Pretoria, South Africa-
