Rwanda's RSSB Tigers win 2026 Basketball Africa League Championship

This is the first time a Rwandan team won the league title and also RSSB Tigers' second win over Petro de Luanda this season.

The Tigers staged an incredible comeback in the first half to prevent Angolan side from winning their second BAL title since the 2024.

After a poor opening quarter, Craig Randall bounced back in the second, putting the RSSB Tigers in the lead with a game-high 33 points.

Aboubacar Gakou led Petro de Luanda with 28 points, but he fouled later in the fourth quarter.

Petro cruised to a 7–0 lead, forcing coach Henry Mwinuka to call a timeout just two minutes and eight seconds into the game.

Petro added 13 more points to make it 20 unanswered before the home team could improve their performance.

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 to reduce the deficit to 28-19 a minute into the second quarter.

He followed this with another three-pointer (28–22), sending the crowd of spectators into a frenzy.

Randall hit another three-pointer to give the Tigers their first lead (37–35), prompting chants and dancing from the home fan base.

As the game progressed, the RSSB Tigers ’confidence increased and took a 42-37 lead at the break.

The Basketball Africa League 2026 playoff tipped off on May 22 at BK Arena in Kigali, with eight teams competing for the continental crown.