ANG – Carvalho likes Petro Atletico de Luanda chances

LUANDA (FIBA Africa Champions Cup) – Defending champions Petro Atletico de Luanda are desperate to reach the final of the FIBA Africa Champions Cup and win the competition for a second season in succession.

The tournament starts on Thursday, and Alberto Carvalho, the club's boss and Angola’s national team coach, is very optimistic.

He said to FIBA: "We have the advantage of playing at home (in Angola) and I think that we will not let our fans down.”

The southern Angolan city of Huambo will host Group B, a pool which has Petro Atletico de Luanda, ASB Onatra (DR Congo), ABC (Ivory Coast), Ferroviario de Maputo (Mozambique), Niger Potters (Nigeria) and Stade Malien (Mali).

Headline names for Petro include Shanoon Crooks, who is in his second season with the Angolan champions, and he will be joined by fellow American fellow Randall Jackson and Angolan international Victor Muzadi, who once played for rival Primeiro de Agosto.

Two key members in last year’s side, Portugal international Francisco Jordao and American Fredrik Gentry, are gone.

Jordao signed for rivals Primeiro de Agosto and Gentry has returned to Portugal to play for vice-champions Porto.

"We (also) have to recover some injured players like Milton Barros and Domingos Bonifacio.”

Petro have a winning tradition, but Carvalho expects group play to be difficult.

"We have been drawn in a very even group,” he said.

"We will play many miles away from Luanda, and we will have to play our best as our opponents are motivated to win here.

"I know our opponents very well. Some of the players have appeared for their own national teams.”

Petro de Luanda had two weeks to prepare in Serbia for the FIBA Africa Champions Cup and caught a break when they received news of a three-week delay before the tournament tipped off.

"It was good for us because we had many players injured,” Carvalho said.

In Group A, games will take place in the northern city of Cabinda, where the runner-up from last year, Primeiro de Agosto, have been drawn along fellow Angolans Inter Clube de Luanda, APR (Rwanda), BC Kauka (DR Congo), MBC (Guinea) and ASPAC (Benin).  

The 22nd FIBA Africa Champions Cup will then stage the remainder of the competition in  the capital city of Luanda.

Petro squad: Milton Barros, Domingos Bonifácio, Shannon Croocks, Carlos Morais, Fernando Albano, Mariano, Francisco Horácio, Joaquim Xavier, Cardoso Casimiro, Denilson, Luis Costa, Leonel Paulo, Victor Carvalho, Victor Muzadi, Eduardo Mingas and Randall Jackson

Julio Chitunda
FIBA