BAL: Petro Luanda and ASC Dakar win Sahara Conference openers

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) has restarted after the exploits at the Kalahari Conference in Morocco.

At the Dakar Arena in Senegal, the BAL defending champion Petro de Luanda (Angola) defeated the BAL debutant Kriol Star Basketball (Cape Verde) 103-74 in their Sahara Conference opener.

Petro outscored Kriol Star 41-32 and forced the Star's 25 turnovers while shooting 52.6 percent from the field in their first game since winning the BAL Championship Trophy last June.

In the thrilling second game of the day, the home team ASC Ville de Dakar (Senegal) defeated US Monastir (Tunisia) 70-67.

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The victory came thanks to 15 points from captain Bara Ndiaye leading the Senegalese champions, followed by Abdoulaye Harouna and Will Perry.

Both sides struggled offensively over lengthy portions of the game.

However, big three-pointers from Perry and Monastir captain Radhouane Slimane down the line kept the game tight till the end.