Luanda – Petro de Luanda remain undefeated in the 47th National Senior Men's Basketball Championship by beating Interclube 98-73 on Saturday night, in a match corresponding to the 2nd round of the second phase of the competition

The match, played at the Cidadela pavilion, marked the debut of point guard Carlos Morais and centre John Pedro against their former team, Petro de Luanda. Expectations were high regarding the match that pitted the two best teams in national basketball today against each other.

On one side, an Inter team strengthened to the level of the coaching staff and on the other, the “demolisher” Petro, national champions, African champions and 5th place in the Intercontinental Club Cup.

In fact, the match ended without much of a story, as Petro dominated all quarters, dashing all the expectations of the fans who were expecting a balanced and exciting match.

The first quarter still “sold” the image that it would be a very competitive game, but Petro ended up dominating the situation, winning by 13 points (30-17).

Carlos Morais made the difference and scored 15 points, being the only one from the 22 de Junho team to reach double digits. His statistics also show five assists, two rebounds and one steal.

The rest was just managing the result with the point guard Rigoberto Mendoza, a Dominican national, standing out with 22 points scored.

This player, recently signed, was the top scorer for Petro and the match.

In the last quarter, with many changes in its scheme, Interclube still tried to counter the opponents momentum, but they were unable to prevent the defeat.

The teams lined up and scored as follows: Petro de Luanda: Gerson Domingos (00), Eduardo Simão (00), Yanick Moreira (4), Childe Dundão (14), Keneth Manuel (00), Souleiman Diabate (8), Carlos Cabral (6), Cleusio Castro (15), Aboubakar Gakou (14), Glofate Buiamba (15), Rigoberto Mendonza (22) and Jorge Filipe (00) Coach: Sérgio Valdeolmillos

Interclube: Timoteo Txinalua (6), Emanuel Sebastião (8),
Raimer Santana (5), Elmer Felix (3), Carlos Morais (15), Jonatão
Ndjungo (8), Guilherme Bernardo (6), Geovani Kibinga (2), Gelson Calunga (9), John Pedro (2), Islando Manuel (2) and Wilson Ambrósio (8) Coach: José Garcia.

WR/MC/TED/jmc