Angola’s Petro de Luanda, the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) champions, will represent Africa at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, which will be held from September 12 to 15, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Petro de Luanda’s participation marks the fourth consecutive year a BAL champion is competing in this prestigious international tournament.
Petro de Luanda will be part of Group A, alongside Unicaja from Spain, winners of Europe’s Basketball Champions League (BCL), and Lebanon’s Al Riyadi, the BCL Asia champion.
Group B features Quimsa from Argentina (BCL Americas winner), NBA G League United (a U.S. team composed of top G League prospects), and Tasmania JackJumpers from Australia, marking the first time a BCL Asia champion and a team from Oceania are participating.
The teams in each group will face off in round-robin play across the first three days of the tournament. The top team from each group will advance to the final on September 15, while the remaining four teams will compete in classification games.
Petro de Luanda earned their spot in the 34th edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup by defeating Libya’s Al Ahly Ly 107-94 to secure the 2024 BAL Championship at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
This victory is historic, as Petro de Luanda became the first sub-Saharan African team to win the BAL Finals, after past champions from Egypt and Tunisia. The BAL Finals reached audiences in 214 countries and territories, highlighting the growing global influence of African basketball.
The Angolan club will be bolstered by seven players from their 2024 BAL title-winning squad, as well as new additions like Souleyman Diabate, a 2024 BAL All-Defensive Team member who previously won titles with Zamalek (2021) and US Monastir (2022), and Egyptian-American center Patrick Gardner, who recently joined from Egypt’s Al Ahly.
Gardner, who played for the NBA G League’s Long Island Nets, brings international experience after debuting with Egypt’s national team at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Petro de Luanda’s journey to the 2024 BAL Championship saw them excel in the Kalahari Conference, with a 5-2 record.
They advanced through the playoffs by defeating AS Douanes from Senegal and Cape Town Tigers from South Africa before securing their final victory against Al Ahly Ly.
Their first FIBA Intercontinental Cup match will take place on Thursday, September 12, at 8:00 p.m. (GMT +8) against Unicaja, followed by their second game on Saturday, September 14, at 4:00 p.m. (GMT +8) against Al Riyadi.
Petro de Luanda’s participation continues a tradition of African representation at the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, with previous BAL champions Zamalek (Egypt) in 2021, US Monastir (Tunisia) in 2022, and Al Ahly (Egypt) in 2023.
The Angolan champions now aim to make their mark on the global stage, showcasing African basketball talent to the world.
