LUANDA (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - In a clash between the frontrunners for the BAI Basket (Angolan League) title race, Recreativo do Libolo clinched their second trophy in the last three seasons by edging national and African giants Primeiro D'Agosto 78-77 over the weekend.

Angolan international Felizardo Ambrosio dominated both ends of the floor, leading all scorers with 23 points, and Reggie Moore poured in 16 for D’Agosto, but the game belonged to their national teammates Carlos Morais, Eduardo Mingas and Olimpio Cipriano who helped Libolo claim more silverware.

American Eric Coleman led Libolo with 20 points, Morais and Mingas had 14 each and Cipriano chipped in with 13 as the new champions strengthened their successful campaign, increasing their chances of dominating the game in the country in years to come.

Libolo's campaign was so successful that they claimed the title with two games left in the round-robin Final-Four tournament, while D'Agosto finished runners-up, Petro de Luanda came third and InterClube de Luanda claimed the fourth place.

Mingas told the local media that Libolo were the better team in the postseason, although he acknowledged D'Agosto had the most talented team.

D'Agosto forward Joaquim Gomes, a regular member of Angolan national team, told FIBA.com: "The better team does not always win, but Libolo were the better side because of what they were capable of doing in the final phase of the tournament. All games were highly-competitive, and they were consistent throughout."

"Obviously, as a D'Agosto player I wish we would have won the national championship, but we made some mistakes when we should not have."

Gomes played a key role for D'Agosto when they claimed the African Champions Cup title last December in Sousse, Tunisia, but the end of the BAI Basket season was unpredictable.

"We were affected by injuries. Personally, I sat out for a week in the postseason. Cedric Isom has not played the last five or six weeks and Edson Ndoniema got injured as well. But we must give credit to Libolo," the 33-year-old explained.

A lot has been said about the future Angolan dominance on the African continent, especially when more and more top prospects from Egypt are joining US colleges in order to develop their academic and basketball skills.

For Gomes, the future of the game in Angola needs a revaluation.

"Unfortunately, this season we didn't have many emerging talents, with the exception of Joaquim Patricio Pedro "Quinzinho" of Petro de Luanda.

"The (national) federation should promote more national and international competition at youth level in order to develop the game throughout the country.

"Many young players are missing out when they reach the senior level for lack of opportunities because clubs tend to sign more experienced players.

"Fortunately the national championship only allows two foreign players for each team," said Gomes.

As for the national team, which will open its 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Group D along with Korea, Lithuania, Slovenia, Mexico and Australia, Gomes says there is not much to say for now as preparations plans are yet to be announced.

FIBA