After US Monastir avenged last year's Basketball Africa League final defeat to Zamalek in Wednesday's semifinal at the BK Arena in Kigali, sending the Egyptians home from their title defense, there will be an all-new champion on Saturday.
However, it is by no means a sure bet that the Tunisian giants will succeed where they failed in last year's inaugural final. They will be up against the most stable team in the competition in Angola's Petro de Luanda.
Many teams at the BAL have been marred by internal conflict -- not least Monastir, whose star player Ty Lawson left acrimoniously right before the tournament began.
Petro, by contrast, are a stable unit with a strong core of Angolan national team players. Although it took time to adjust to Brazilian coach José Neto's methods, the team has delivered on star player Carlos Morais' pledge to improve on last year, when they were beaten by Zamalek in the semifinals.
"We had a new coaching staff and the way he (Neto) was trying to make us play was hard for us to follow at the time, but now, I think we're on the same page -- I think we have all the pieces," Morais said in an interview with ESPN before Petro's season began.
Even so, Petro are not infallible. They lost 85-72 to Zamalek in Cairo and had questionable fourth-quarter displays in their knockout matches against AS Salé and FAP in Kigali.
They will have to improve in the closing stages against Monastir, a team which has the necessary grit to take full advantage of any late lapses in concentration. Just ask Zamalek, who led 40-35 at the half, but went on to lose 88-81 on Wednesday.
Monastir is another team largely consisting of veterans, but they look anything but aged in Kigali. Solo Diabate, a 2021 champion with Zamalek, has given the team an extra spring in their step, going some way towards making up for Lawson's departure.
Former Los Angeles Lakers draftee Ater Majok has been the standout player for Monastir so far, and is a strong contender for defensive MVP, at the very least.
The hurt at having missed out on last year's title has spurred the Tunisians to new heights. Despite any pre-season problems, Julius Coles said in the mixed zone after the win over Zamalek that the current group of players are united.
"We keep the same attitude [heading into the final]. We're going to watch film and see how we can stop some of their players. We expect to win games and we have a great core group," he said.
"These guys have been together all year. I played for this team a couple of years ago, so it wasn't like I was a really new piece. I know a lot of the guys, so we have a lot of team chemistry and we're just going to use that to propel ourselves to victory."
Miodrag Perišić's side were unconvincing in the Sahara Conference in Dakar, where they missed out on top spot after losing to Rwanda Energy Group (REG). However, they have grown into the tournament.
"The guys sometimes... still, they are fighting. Still, we want to improve some things. It's not [negative] fighting, but still, we are trying to improve day by day," said Perišić in the press conference after Monastir's 106-67 quarterfinal demolition of the Cape Town Tigers.
These teams have never faced each other at the BAL before, but are emblematic of two eras in African national team basketball.
Angola ruled the roost in the early 2000s, with many of the same players who are still driving Petro's success today. However, Tunisia are the current champions, having beaten Ivory Coast 78-75 in last year's final -- incidentally in Kigali.
Petro will have a chip on their shoulders due to Angola's lack of success since 2013, while Monastir will be hungry to put last year's frustrations in the rear view.
It should make for a titanic tussle which is likely to go right down to the wire.
The BAL final will be played on May 28 at 6pm local time [12noon ET], and will air on ESPN in Africa and on ESPN+ and ESPNNews in the US.