Cairo - Petro de Luanda beat Cameroon's Forces Armées, 73-60, on Saturday, but showed that they are still far from the levels they had reached in the past.
The match, on the sixth day of the African Basketball League, played at the Hassan Mustafa Hall Pavilion, on the outskirts of Cairo (Egypt), showed that the opponents did not do better due to the experience and competitive level of the "tricolores", because the match itself was more balanced in defence and attack.
Several ball losses by even the most highly rated players in the team, such as Carlos Morais, Gelson Lukeny and Aboubakar Gakou, as well as short and long throw failures by Carlos Morais and Olimpio Cipriano, suggest an abnormality in the Angolan team.
Despite always being ahead on the scoreboard, Petro were never dominant and the biggest difference they managed was 14 points, or 54-40, at the end of the third quarter.
At half time, the team from the "Eixo-viário" was leading only by 34-25, against a combative opponent that imposed itself, losing in the end by 13 points (60-73).
With this victory, Petro de Luanda team adds six points, well on its way to qualify among the four best teams of this Nile Conference to the quarter-finals.
Sunday is a rest day. On Monday, Petro play against BC Fukash of DRC, starting at 19h30.
Also on Saturday evening, it is scheduled the Egypt's Zamalek-BC Espoir Fukash of the DRC encounter.
