Angolan basketball giants Petro de Luanda are by far the favourites for this year’s Basketball Africa League title, having finished third and then second in the previous two editions, but first they must make it through Cairo.
Last year’s champions, US Monastir of Tunisia, were knocked out of the tournament after failing to advance out of the Sahara Conference in Dakar, Senegal, in March. This leaves Petro as the only team remaining to have played in a BAL final, but they must advance past the Nile Conference [April 26-May 6] in Egypt.
In Petro’s favour, they have signed former Los Angeles Lakers draftee Ater Majok, who has extensive experience in leagues around the world, including Australia, and last year won the BAL with Monastir.
Failing to re-sign Majok was not for lack of trying by Monastir, for whom South Sudanese-Lebanese power forward won the BAL Defensive MVP award last year, beating Petro in the final.
Majok, the 58th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, told ESPN that the Tunisian champions had made him an offer for this edition, but he opted to join former Monastir teammate Solo Diabaté at Petro instead.
According to Majok, Monastir’s offer was on par with Petro’s, but he needed a new challenge: “Solo was like, ‘You’re the missing piece. What do you think about joining us?’
“I kind of took it with a grain of salt. It wasn’t an official offer. I waited maybe a month and then I got a call from the GM and he was basically like, ‘We want you to come join us for the BAL.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’d be interested.’
“It’s a different chance, a different place – it’s a new place. I felt like I needed something new; I needed a new challenge.
“There’s a saying: even a good performer has to know when to exit the stage and I felt like it was time for me to make a change and put on a new uniform and face new challenges.”
Last year, Petro were already one of the most cohesive and consistent teams in the tournament, but they were crying out for a big man like 6-foot-11 Majok with the ability to dictate the game. His 13.6 points and 11 rebounds per game proved crucial for Monastir.
However, particularly after seeing his old side unceremoniously dumped out of the tournament, Majok is taking nothing for granted.
He added: “We’re not the favourites for nothing. [But] we have achieved nothing; we have done nothing. The Nile Conference is going to be very tough… Those are not easy competitors. If you blink, you might end up in the same position as Monastir.
“When we get to the [Nile] Conference, [we have to] just make sure that we qualify from that group and make sure that we qualify for [the playoffs in] Rwanda at all costs, and then whatever happens in Rwanda happens in Rwanda, but just make sure you leave everything out there.”
Apart from Majok and Diabaté, Petro have also added former George Washington small forward Damian Hollis to their roster.
Hollis, who has won league titles in Hungary and Portugal and also played in Italy, Greece and Venezuela, told ESPN: “The league is a lot more physical than what I’ve come up against.
“I played in Venezuela before I got here and it’s pretty physical out there. Italy was not so physical – it was more strategic, I would say.
“The talent out here – the potential is huge. I’ve played against young players that are amazing talent-wise. Older players like Carlos Morais and Solo Diabaté are very intelligent and still playing at a high level.
“Majok, I played with him in Venezuela and he’s one of the reasons that I came out here.”
Majok never took to the court in an NBA game for the Lakers, but he had the chance to learn from legends such as Kobe Bryant, whose work ethic he absorbed.
As a result, he carries with him a wealth of experience, which he can use to help his younger teammates deal with the highs and lows of basketball.
“My main thing that I always tell kids is: ‘Whatever you do, do it with all that you have, and even if you fail, do it with your head held high. Don’t ever think what if? You don’t ever want to have that what if?,’ said Majok.
“Me, personally, I don’t have the what if? I don’t have the disappointment of ‘could have, should have, would have’… Learn from the mistakes, but always think about the next move. When you look back, you don’t look at it as a disappointment; you look at it as a lesson.”
Petro and hosts Al Ahly are clear favourites to advance out of Cairo, with Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), Ferroviário da Beira (Mozambique), SLAC (Guinea) and City Oilers (Uganda) likely to battle it out for the remaining four places.
The playoffs and final take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from May 21 to 27. The BAL airs exclusively on ESPN in Africa.
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