2023 BAL season

The 2023 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 3, is the third season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).[1] The season began on 11 March 2023 and will end on 27 May 2023, with the playoffs and finals being played in the BK Arena in Kigali, which hosts the finals for a third season in a row. The regular season is played in Dakar, Senegal (Sahara Conference) and Cairo, Egypt (Nile Conference) for a second year in a row.

2023 BAL season
Season2023
Dates11 March – 27 May 2023
Number of teams12
Records
Biggest home win20 points
Stade Malien 84–64 REG
(18 March 2023)
Highest attendance9,874
AS Douanes 70–76 ABC Fighters
(11 March 2023)
Lowest attendance214
REG 64–48 Kwara Falcons
(12 March 2023)
2024 →

The qualification games for the season, the Road to BAL, began on 11 October 2022. The winners of the 2023 BAL season will automatically qualify for the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup Singapore.[2]

US Monastir are the defending champions, having won their first title in the previous season.

Qualification
Main article: 2023 BAL qualification

The first round of the qualifying stage consists of 20 teams that play in four groups of five, each held in different cities. In the Elite 16, the teams are joined by 6 teams that qualified during the previous 2022 BAL qualification. Two groups of five teams are played to determine the six teams that advance to the main tournament.[3]

On 21 September 2021, FIBA Africa announced the 26 teams in the qualifying tournaments as well as the six countries that would qualify directly.[3]

Group phase
Group A
(Niamey)		 Group B
(Yaoundé)

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Ivory Coast ABC Fighters 3 6
2 Mali Stade Malien 3 5
3 Benin Elan Coton (W) 3 4
4 Niger Nigelec (H) 3 3
Source: Road to BAL
(H) Host; (W) Advanced with wild card

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Central African Republic Bangui Sporting Club 2 4
2 Equatorial Guinea Nueva Era 2 3
3 Gabon Espoir 2 2
Source: Road to BAL

Elite 16
Group A
(Abidjan)		 Group B
(Abidjan)

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Central African Republic Bangui Sporting Club 3 6
2 Ivory Coast ABC Fighters 3 4
3 Morocco AS Salé 3 4
4 Benin Elan Coton 3 4
Source: Road to BAL

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Mali Stade Malien 3 6
2 Guinea SLAC 3 5
3 Cameroon FAP 3 4
4 Equatorial Guinea Nueva Era 3 3
Source: Road to BAL

Final round
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
18 November 2022
 
 
Central African Republic Bangui Sporting Club61
 
19 November 2022
 
Guinea SLAC69
 
Guinea SLAC70
 
18 November 2022
 
Ivory Coast ABC Fighters81
 
Mali Stade Malien59
 
 
Ivory Coast ABC Fighters62
 
Third place game
 
 
19 November 2022
 
 
Central African Republic Bangui Sporting Club59
 
 
Mali Stade Malien62

Group phase
Group A
(Dar es Salaam)		 Group B
(Antananarivo)

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Burundi Urunani 3 6
2 Uganda City Oilers 3 5
3 Tanzania ABC (H) 3 4
4 Zambia Matero Magic 3 3
Source: Road to BAL
(H) Host

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Madagascar COSPN (H) 2 4
2 Kenya KPA 2 3
3 Comoros Djabal Iconi 2 2
Source: Road to BAL
(H) Host

Elite 16
Group C
(Johannesburg)		 Group D
(Johannesburg)

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Burundi Urunani 3 5
2 South Africa Cape Town Tigers 3 5
3 NBA Academy Africa 3 5
4 Kenya KPA 3 3
Source: Road to BAL

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Uganda City Oilers 3 6
2 Mozambique Ferroviário da Beira 3 5
3 Zambia Matero Magic 3 4
4 Madagascar COSPN 3 3
Source: Road to BAL

Final round
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
26 November
 
 
Burundi Urunani62
 
27 November
 
Mozambique Ferroviário da Beira68
 
Mozambique Ferroviário da Beira71
 
26 November
 
South Africa Cape Town Tigers81
 
Uganda City Oilers69
 
 
South Africa Cape Town Tigers75
 
Third place game
 
 
27 November
 
 
Burundi Urunani62
 
 
Uganda City Oilers71

Teams

Petro de Luanda was the first team to qualify for the season when it won the Angolan League on 10 May 2022.[4] The last qualifed team was City Oilers who captured the third place in the Road to BAL East Division on 27 November 2022. The twelve teams of the 2023 BAL season were officially confirmed on 13 February 2023.[5] After an absence of a Nigerian representative in the 2022 season due to FIBA's punishment of the Nigeria Basketball Federation,[6] Kwara Falcons was directly qualified as winners of the Nigerian Premier League.[7]

Al Ahly, Kwara Falcons, ABC Fighters and Stade Malien will make their debut in the competition. ABC Fighters is the first team from Ivory Coast to play in the BAL, while City Oilers is the first team from Uganda.[8][5]

Two teams, defending champions US Monastir and runners-up Petro de Luanda, appear in their third consecutive season.

Team Method of

qualification

 Date of

qualification

 Finals

appearance

 Previous

appearance

 Consecutive

appearances

 Previous best

performance

Angola Petro de Luanda Angolan Basketball League winners 10 May 2022[4] 3rd 2022 3 Runners-up (2022)
Tunisia US Monastir Championnat National A winners 16 May 2022 3rd 2022 3 Champions (2022)
Egypt Al Ahly Egyptian Super League winners 16 May 2022[9] 1st – 1 –
Rwanda REG RBL winners 19 September 2022[10] 2nd 2022 2 Quarter-finals (2022)
Senegal AS Douanes Nationale 1 winners 15 October 2022[11] 2nd 2021 1 Quarter-finals (2021)
Nigeria Kwara Falcons NBBF Premier League winners 12 November 2022[7] 1st – 1 –
Ivory Coast ABC Fighters Road to BAL West Division winners 17 November 2022[8] 1st – 1 –
Guinea SLAC Road to BAL West Division runners-up 17 November 2022[12] 2nd 2022 2 Quarter-finals (2022)
Mali Stade Malien Road to BAL West Division third place 18 November 2022[13] 1st – 1 –
Mozambique Ferroviário da Beira Road to BAL East Division runners-up 26 November 2022[14] 2nd 2022 2 Group stage (2022)
South Africa Cape Town Tigers Road to BAL East Division winners 26 November 2022[15] 2nd 2022 2 Quarter-finals (2022)
Uganda City Oilers Road to BAL East Division third place 27 November 2022 1st – 1 –

Personnel and sponsorship

Augustí Julbe of Al Ahly was the only coach this season to already have won a BAL championship, as he won the 2021 title with Zamalek.

Team Head coach Captain
ABC Fighters Australia Liz Mills[16] Ivory Coast Stéphane Konaté
Al Ahly Spain Augustí Julbe[17]
AS Douanes Senegal Pabi Gueye Senegal Alkaly Ndour
Cape Town Tigers United States Rasheed Hazzard[18]
City Oilers Uganda Mandy Juruni
Ferroviário da Beira Spain Luís Lopes Hernandez[19]
Kwara Falcons Nigeria Baba Jubril Nigeria Victor Ezeh
Petro de Luanda Brazil José Neto[20]
REG United States Dean Murray[21] Rwanda Olivier Shyaka
SLAC Serbia Željko Zečević
Stade Malien Mali Kaba Kanté South Africa Makan Keita
US Monastir Serbia Miodrag Perišić[22] Tunisia Radhouane Slimane

Foreign and Elevate players

Each BAL team was allowed to have four foreign players on its roster, including only two non-African players. Players in italics were signed only for the playoffs. If players have multiple nationalities, the nationality of an African nation is shown.

Each team also featured one player from the NBA Academy Africa, under the BAL Elevate program.[23] The players were drafted in an online meeting by the teams and the official list were announced on 28 February 2023.[24]

Team African Non-African Elevate player[24]
1 2 3 4
ABC Fighters South Sudan Chudier Bile[25] Niger Abdoulaye Harouna[26] Nigeria Chris Obekpa[26] United States Alex Robinson[26] Nigeria Joy Ighovodja
Al Ahly United States Virgin Islands Walter Hodge[27] Mali Ladji Camara
AS Douanes Ghana Matthew Bryan-Amaning[28] Nigeria Michael Ochereobia[29] United States Terrell Stoglin[30] United States Chris Crawford[31] South Sudan Khaman Maluach
Cape Town Tigers Central African Republic Evans Ganapamo South Sudan Dhieu Deing United States Zaire Wade[32] United States Josh Hall[33] Democratic Republic of the Congo Parby Kabamba Musongela
City Oilers Nigeria Obe Ezekiel
Ferroviário da Beira Senegal Makhtar Gueye[34] Mali Bourama Sidibe[35] United States William Perry[35] United States Najeal Young[35] Democratic Republic of the Congo Paul Kabenga Mbiya
Kwara Falcons Sierra Leone Sita Conteh[36] Cameroon Kevin Nyemeck[36] United States A. J. Wilson[37] United States Ruot Monyyong[36] Senegal Modou Fall Thiam[38]
Petro de Luanda Ivory Coast Solo Diabate[39] Cape Verde Anderson Correia[40] Hungary Damian Hollis[41] Lebanon Ater Majok[42] Egypt Seifeldin Hendaway
REG Democratic Republic of the Congo Pitchou Kambuy Manga[43] Cameroon Beleck Bell Engelbert[43] United States Cleveland Thomas[44] United States Delwan Graham[43] Cameroon Ulrich Chomche
SLAC United States Dane Miller Jr. South Sudan Mabilmawut Mabil
Stade Malien South Africa Makan Keita[45] Nigeria Kelvin Amayo[45] United States Brian Bridgeford[45] Morocco John Wilkins[45] Nigeria Rueben Chinyelu
US Monastir Senegal Ibrahima Thomas[46] Ukraine Jerome Randle[47] Nigeria Churchill Abass

Pre-season

The league hosted their official second BAL Combine on 15 and 16 January 2023 at The One Ball Training Center in Paris.[48] The combine featured 30 players and was directed by former NBA head coach Quin Snyder.[49]

US Monastir, as champions of the 2022 BAL season, participated in the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup. It was the second time a BAL team participated in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. In the competition, played in February and hosted in La Laguna in Spain, Monastir finished fourth after two losses against CB Canarias and Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[50]

ESPN tipped Petro de Luanda, last year's runners-up, as the title favourites in their annual season preview.[51]

Schedule

The schedule for the 2023 season was officially released on 13 February 2023.[5]

Phase Round Draw date Games
Qualifying First Round – 12–30 October 2022
Elite 16 3 November 2022 14–27 November 2022
Group phase Sahara Conference – 11–21 March 2023
Nile Conference 26 April – 6 May 2023
Playoffs Quarter-finals 21–27 May 2023
Semi-finals
Final and third place

Regular season

The regular season is played from 11 March to 6 May 2023. The twelve teams are divided into two conferences of six teams each. Teams in each group play each other one time, whereafter the top four teams advance to the playoffs.

Sahara Conference
Main article: 2023 BAL Sahara Conference

The games of the Sahara Conference were played from 11 March to 21 March 2023 and were hosted in the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal for a second consecutive season. Stade Malien finished as Conference winner, due to their head-to-head point difference that determined the ranking of five teams with a 3–2 record. The defending BAL champions, US Monastir, missed the playoffs after they lost on the last game day.

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT Qualification
1 Mali Stade Malien 5 3 2 378 361 +17 .600[lower-alpha 1] Advance to playoffs
2 Senegal AS Douanes (H) 5 3 2 350 331 +19 .600[lower-alpha 1]
3 Rwanda REG 5 3 2 356 344 +12 .600[lower-alpha 1]
4 Ivory Coast ABC Fighters 5 3 2 389 390 −1 .600[lower-alpha 1]
5 Tunisia US Monastir 5 3 2 381 388 −7 .600[lower-alpha 1]
6 Nigeria Kwara Falcons 5 0 5 341 381 −40 .000
Source: BAL, Flashscore
(H) Host
Notes:
  1. Five tied teams were ranked on point differential in the games against each other: 1) Stade Malien +13; 2) AS Douanes +12; 3) REG –4; 4) ABC Fighters –4; 5) US Monastir –18.

Nile Conference

The games of the Nile Conference will be played from 26 April to 6 May 2023 and will be played in the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in 6th of October, Cairo, Egypt.

Standings
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT Qualification
1 Egypt Al Ahly (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 — Advance to playoffs
2 South Africa Cape Town Tigers 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
3 Uganda City Oilers 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
4 Mozambique Ferroviário da Beira 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
5 Angola Petro de Luanda 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
6 Guinea SLAC 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
First match(es) will be played on unknown. Source: BAL
(H) Host

Games

Playoffs
Main article: 2023 BAL Playoffs

The playoffs will be held from 21 May to 27 May 2023 in the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda for the third consecutive season.

Bracket
 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
 
          
 
21 May
 
 
Seed 2 Nile
 
25 May
 
Rwanda REG
 
 
 
21 May
 
 
 
Mali Stade Malien
 
26 May
 
Seed 4 Nile
 
 
 
22 May
 
 
 
Senegal AS Douanes
 
25 May
 
Seed 3 Nile
 
 
 
22 May
 
 Third place game
 
Seed 1 Nile
 
27 May
 
Ivory Coast ABC Fighters
 
 
 
 
 
 

Quarterfinals
21 May 2023
16:00
Seed 2 Nile  vs. Rwanda REG
21 May 2023
19:00
Stade Malien Mali  vs. Seed 4 Nile
22 May 2023
17:00
AS Douanes Senegal  vs. Seed 3 Nile
22 May 2023
20:30
Seed 1 Nile  vs. Ivory Coast ABC Fighters

Semifinals
25 May 2023
17:00
Winner Game 31  vs. Winner Game 32
25 May 2023
20:30
Winner Game 33  vs. Winner Game 34

Third place game
26 May 2023
18:00
Loser Game 35  vs. Loser Game 36

Finals
27 May 2023
18:00
Winner Game 35  vs. Winner Game 36


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