KIGALI, May 29 — Tunisia’s US Monastir beat Petro de Luanda of Angola 83-72 to win the 2022 Basketball Africa League (BAL) championship in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on Saturday.
US Monastir, which finished second at last year’s inaugural games, cruised to Saturday’s final after knocking out defending champion Zamalek of Egypt 88-81 in the semifinals, while Petro de Luanda beat Cameroon’s Forces Armees et Police (FAP) 88-74 to reach the final.
The Tunisian side eked out an 18-17 lead after the opening quarter before Petro de Luanda sank 23 points in the second frame to gain a 40-33 halftime advantage and entered the fourth quarter with a two-point edge on 59-57 after a close third period.
This however was overturned by US Monastir in the final period as the Tunisians gained 26 points to cruise to a convincing victory.
Michael Dixon and Firas Lahyani had 21 points each for the Tunisian side, while the 31-year-old point guard Dixon, voted the 2022 BAL Most Valuable Player, also dished out 6 assists for US Monastir en route to their first-ever continental trophy.
Gerson Goncalves produced 28 points for Petro de Luanda.
The BAL, born out of a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a new professional league, featuring top club teams from across Africa. This year’s BAL finals which ran from May 21 attracted eight top teams from the continent competing for the title. (Xinhua)
