After a difficult start to the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season, defending champions Petro de Luanda captain Yanick Moreira is counting on Samkelo Cele’s aggression to help them complete their turnaround.
Petro were 3-3 from six games in Dakar’s Sahara Conference. However, ahead of the playoffs, they added American guard Kendrick Ray and South African guard Samkelo Cele – one of the persistent thorns in their side last season with the Cape Town Tigers.
Initially, they still could not solve their issues with a woeful shooting performance in a seeding game defeat to Rwanda’s Armée Patriotique Rwandaise. However, Ray scored 20 points and Cele 13 as Petro bounced back with a 95-84 quarter-final win over US Monastir.
Moreira believes that Cele is the type of player that Petro were lacking following the departure of former captain Carlos Morais to Angolan rivals Interclube and Gerson Lukeny Gonçalves to French second-tier club Aix Maurienne Savoie Basket.
When asked what Cele adds to the team, Moreira told ESPN: “A little aggression on defense and making shots. He can be more aggressive on offense and he can also be a good [addition] on defense.
“It’s something that we didn’t really have that much. We’re playing with two smaller point guards [but now,] we’ve also got him [to complement them].”
Like former duo Morais and Moreira, Cele brings US and European experience. The former Durban High School prodigy played for the in last year’s NBA Summer League with 11 points in his only appearance – a win over the .
After stints in Burundi and Oman, he represented Real Valladolid Baloncesto in Spain’s second-tier, where his performances stayed steady even as the team suffered relegation.
Meanwhile, Morais was gradually phased out of the team towards the end of the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season by coach Sergio Valdeolmillos, who was appointed midway through the season to replace José Neto following their poor start.
Petro turned their season around and won their first BAL championship, with Morais playing a key role in the locker room even with his minutes on the floor limited. In January 2025, he joined Angolan rivals Interclube, leaving fellow senior player Moreira to take over as captain.
Moreira acknowledged that the team’s transition following the departure of Morais – his predecessor as captain – has been difficult.
Moreira said: “It’s not easy… You cannot replace Carlos with anybody. He’s a guy you cannot replace, but I’m just trying to do my job – trying to be available for my guys and do the best I can. I don’t think anybody right now in Angola can [fill] Carlos’ shoes, so it’s going to be tough for us.
“He was still part of a lot of stuff that was going on in the locker room [when his playing time decreased]. Everybody respected him. When you have a guy like Carlos, there’s not much you can say to anybody. Just his presence made everybody feel safe. He made sure everybody was on the same page and that we understood what we were supposed to do.”
His words echoed those of teammate Aboubacar Gakou, who had commented on Morais’ departure after Petro’s first game of the 2025 BAL season – a win over Kriol Star.
“It’s strange because I played with Carlos Morais for 10 years, so it’s hard to play without him,” Gakou said in the mixed zone after the 103-74 victory.
“This is basketball. Sometimes you’ve got to do this. I miss Carlos Morais, but right now, we’ve got a job to do.”
No team has ever won back-to-back BAL titles since the competition’s inaugural season in 2021. Moreira emphasised the importance of the team staying united as they navigate a challenge which has proven insurmountable for other great clubs.
He said: “For us, we’re trying to do something that no-one’s ever done before, but a lot of people have to be on the same page… The goal is to win back-to-back and we have to do it together. We can’t have individuals trying to do their own thing.”
Petro regrouped after their poor start last season too, and after heading into the quarter-finals with a 2-3 record (two losses from their first four games under Neto and a defeat to Monastir under Valdeolmillos in his first BAL game), they won their quarter-final against AS Douanes, semi-final against the Cape Town Tigers and final against Al Ahly Benghazi.
Petro will have to repeat that turnaround without Morais and Lukeny, but at least they have the first step ticked off with victory over Monastir and will have the help of a crowd favourite for the semi-final against top seed Al Ittihad on Wednesday.
