KIGALI (Rwanda) – The RSSB Tigers beat Petro de Luanda 90-88 to win the 2026 BAL title on Sunday in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Tigers staged an incredible comeback in the first half to prevent Petro de Luanda from winning their second BAL title.
This is the first time a Rwandan team has won the league title. This was also RSSB Tigers' second win over Petro de Luanda this season.
"There's nothing that tops it. This means everything to us. We worked hard - personally, I worked five years for this moment, specifically. This is means everything to me, to Kigali, to Rwanda," said RSSB Tigers guard/forward Ntore Habimana who contributed six points for the victors.
After a poor opening quarter, Craig Randall bounced back in the second, leading the RSSB Tigers with a game-high 33 points. Aboubacar Gakou led Petro de Luanda with 28 points, but it wasn’t meant to be for the 2024 BAL winners as he fouled later in the fourth quarter.
Petro raced to a 7–0 lead, forcing coach Henry Mwinuka to call a timeout just two minutes and eight seconds into the game. Before the home team could improve their performance, Petro added 13 more points to make it 20 unanswered.
After missing his first four shots, Randall scored RSSB’s first two points with a lay-up.
Aboubacar Gakou was Petro’s main instigator, leading them with 15 points by the end of the opening quarter.
The Tigers trailed 27–16 at the end of the first quarter.
Randle sank his first three-pointer, reducing the deficit to 28-19 a minute into the second quarter.
He followed this with another three-pointer (28–22), sending the BK Arena into a frenzy.
When Randall hit another three-pointer to give the Tigers their first lead (37–35), the packed arena erupted with chants and dancing, creating an incredible atmosphere.
Sergio Valdeomillos called a timeout in an attempt to regroup his team.
However, when Gakou — the only Petro player in double digits (20) at that stage of the game — picked up his third foul, the Angolan champions began to question their chances. Coach Valdeomillos took him out of the game to prevent his early exclusion.
As the game progressed, the RSSB Tigers grew in confidence and took a 42-37 lead at the break.
Petro de Luanda's 13 turnovers, excessive fouls and their rotating defence were probably the main talking-point in the locker room. The defence proved effective early in the season but faltered in the most important game of the season.
Eventually, the Angolan champions finished with 17 turnovers while allowing 90 points for the second time this season, since their 104-90 win over Al Ahly Ly.
Asked about their conversation after Petro opened the game with a 20-0 run, Habimana replied: "We didn't really have any specific conversation after that moment; we just stayed true to what we do because this is a game of runs."
He went on breaking down on key factors that gave them the historic win: "Converting points, not giving up second-chance points, being able to play defense. We are a good offensive team, but [Coaches] Henry and James made it clear that we've got to work on our defense if we wanted to be champions. We locked in defensively in the second half and it worked out for us."
With the win, the RSSB Tigers earned the right to represent Africa at the next edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2026 in Singapore in September. "It's a great achievement beating them twice this season," Habimana pointed out.
FIBA