2021 BAL season

Last updated
2021 BAL season
League Basketball Africa League
Season2021
Dates16 – 30 May 2021
Number of games26
Number of teams12
Regular season
Season MVP Walter Hodge
(Zamalek)
Finals
Champions Flag of Egypt.svg Zamalek (1st title)
  Runners-up Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir
Third place Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda
Fourth place Flag of Rwanda.svg Patriots
Statistical leaders
Points Terrell Stoglin (AS Salé) 30.8
Rebounds Ibrahima Thomas (Police) 12.0
Assists Myck Kabongo (Ferroviário) 6.8
Records
Biggest home win47 points
GNBC 66–113 US Monastir
(12 May 2021)
Winning streak6 games
Zamalek
Highest attendance1,789
US Monastir 63–76 Zamalek
(30 May 2021)
Seasons

The 2021 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 1, was the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Established as a joint effort between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA, the BAL is the highest tier continental league of Africa, replacing the FIBA Africa Basketball League. [1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BAL held its inaugural season one year later as planned, with the season beginning in 2021. [2] [3] Initially the league planned to play in six venues in six countries; however, due to the pandemic the season was held in a bio-secure bubble in Kigali, Rwanda. The season began on 16 May 2021 and ended on 30 May 2021. [4]

Contents

The qualifying rounds for the season were held from 16 October to 21 December 2019, with national champion of each African country has the opportunity to qualify through the qualifying rounds. Meanwhile, six national champions directly qualified for the regular season to make a total of twelve teams in the main tournament.

Zamalek won the first-ever BAL championship after beating US Monastir in the finals and going undefeated over the season. [5]

Organisation

The plans to establish the BAL by FIBA and the NBA were first revealed in February 2019 during the 2019 NBA All-Star Game. [6]

In August 2019, the seven host cities for the BAL season were announced. [7] Additionally, it was revealed that the inaugural BAL Final Four would be played in the Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda. BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall, later announced at the NBA All-Star 2020 Africa Luncheon in Chicago, that the season was planned to tip off on 13 March 2020. [8] On 20 February 2020, it was announced that the 12 teams were to be drawn in two conferences, named the Sahara and Nile Conferences. [9]

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

On 3 March 2020, the BAL announced it was postponing its inaugural season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] The decision was made following recommendations of the Senegalese government.

In November, the start of the inaugural season was delayed for a second time and the new season was moved to a later to be announced date in 2021. [11] In March it was announced the league would commence in May 2021. The complete event was rescheduled to be held in the Kigali Arena and the regular season changed its format from two groups to three groups of four. [4] All twelve teams were hosted in a bio-secure bubble in which all players were regularly tested for COVID-19. All games were broadcast live by ESPN Africa. [12]

Qualification

The twelve teams for the inaugural BAL season had to qualify in their domestic competitions to be able to play in the league, similar to other FIBA-organised competitions. Six teams qualified directly as their national champions while an additional six teams qualified through regional qualifying tournaments.

Direct qualification

FIBA announced that the national champions of six member associations would be directly qualified for the regular season. These teams are from countries which are also hosts cities for the regular season, except for Final Four host Rwanda. [7] On 23 October 2019, AS Douanes won the Senegalese national championship, becoming the first club to qualify. [13]

Directly qualified teams
No.CountryTeamNotes
1Flag of Angola.svg  Angola Petro de Luanda Directly Qualified
2Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Zamalek
3Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco AS Salé
No.CountryTeamNotes
4Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria Rivers Hoopers Directly Qualified
5Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal AS Douanes
6Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia US Monastir

Qualifying tournaments

Each of the FIBA Africa member associations was able to register one team from its country to participate in the qualifying tournaments. A total of 31 teams played in the first round, which was divided into six groups in six different host cities. [14] The qualification tournaments started on 16 October and will end 21 December 2019.

Teams and countries playing in the 2020 BAL Qualifying Tournaments
No.CountryTeamNotes
1Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria GS Pétroliers Qualified
2Flag of Benin.svg  Benin ASPAC
3Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana Dolphins
4Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi Dynamo
5Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon FAP
Qualified
6Flag of the Central African Republic.svg  CAF Abeilles
Withdrew
7Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros Usoni
8Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  DR Congo ASB Mazembe
9Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia Hawassa City
10Flag of Gabon.svg  Gabon Manga
11Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana Braves of Customs
12Flag of Guinea.svg  Guinea SLAC
13Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast ABC
14Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya KPA
15Flag of Liberia 23px.svg  Liberia NPA Pythons
16Flag of Libya.svg  Libya Al-Nasr Benghazi
No.CountryTeamNotes
17Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar GNBC
Qualified
18Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi Brave Hearts
Withdrew
19Flag of Mali.svg  Mali AS Police
Qualified
20Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique Ferroviário de Maputo
Qualified
21Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia Lions Club
22Flag of Niger.svg  Niger AS Nigelec
23Flag of Rwanda.svg  Rwanda Patriots
Qualified
24Flag of Seychelles.svg  Seychelles Beau Vallon Heat
25Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Jozi Nuggets
26Flag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan Cobra
27Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania JKT
28Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda City Oilers
29Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia UNZA Pacers
30Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe Mercenaries
31Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea Virgen Maria de Africa

Teams

Qualified teams

TeamHome cityQualified asQualified on
Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir Monastir, TunisiaWinners of the 2018–19 Championnat National A 1 May 2019
Flag of Egypt.svg Zamalek Cairo, EgyptWinners of the 2018–19 Egyptian Super League 4 May 2019
Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda Luanda, AngolaWinners of the 2018–19 Angolan Basketball League 25 May 2019
Flag of Morocco.svg AS Salé Salé, MoroccoWinners of the 2018–19 Division Excellence 30 May 2019
Flag of Senegal.svg AS Douanes Dakar, SenegalWinners of the 2019 Nationale 1 season 23 October 2019
Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers Port Harcourt, NigeriaWinners of the 2019 NBBF President Cup 17 November 2019 [15]
Flag of Algeria.svg GS Pétroliers Algiers, Algeria West Division winners30 November 2019 [16]
Flag of Cameroon.svg FAP Yaoundé, Cameroon West Division runners-up30 November 2019 [16]
Flag of Mali.svg AS Police Bamako, Mali West Division third place1 December 2019 [17]
Flag of Rwanda.svg Patriots Kigali, Rwanda East Division winners21 December 2019
Flag of Madagascar.svg GNBC Antsirabe, Madagascar East Division runners-up21 December 2019 [18]
Flag of Mozambique.svg Ferroviário de Maputo Maputo, Mozambique East Division third place22 December 2019

Personnel and sponsorship

TeamHead coachTeam captain
AS Douanes Flag of Senegal.svg Pabi Gueye [19] Flag of Senegal.svg Alkaly Ndour
AS Salé Flag of Morocco.svg Said El Bouzidi [20] Flag of Morocco.svg Zakaria El Masbahi
AS Police Flag of Mali.svg Babacar Kanouté [19] Flag of Mali.svg Badra Samaké [21]
FAP Flag of Cameroon.svg Lazare Adingono [22] Flag of Cameroon.svg Ebaku Akumenzoh
Ferroviário de Maputo Flag of Mozambique.svg Milagre Macome [19] Flag of Mozambique.svg Custódio Muchate
GNBC Flag of Madagascar.svg Lova Navalona Raharidera [19] Flag of Madagascar.svg Francis Mory
GS Pétroliers Flag of Algeria.svg Sofiane Boulahia [23] Flag of Algeria.svg Mustapha Adrar
Patriots Flag of the United States.svg Alan Major [24] Flag of Rwanda.svg Aristide Mugabe
Petro de Luanda Flag of Brazil.svg José Neto [25] Flag of Angola.svg Leonel Paulo
Rivers Hoopers Flag of Nigeria.svg Ogoh Odaudu [19] Flag of Nigeria.svg Belema Alamin
US Monastir Flag of Tunisia.svg Mounir Ben Slimane Flag of Tunisia.svg Radhouane Slimane
Zamalek Flag of Spain.svg Augustí Julbe [22] Flag of Egypt.svg Haytham Elsaharty

Foreign players

In line with league rules, each BAL team was allowed to have four foreign players on its roster, including only two non-African players.

Team
Player 1Player 2Player 3Player 4
AS Douanes Flag of the United States.svg Chris Cokley [26] Flag of Egypt.svg Hassan Attia [26] Flag of Libya.svg Mohamed Sadi [26]
AS Salé Flag of the United States.svg Ra'Shad James [27] Flag of the United States.svg Terrell Stoglin [28] Flag of the Central African Republic.svg Johndre Jefferson [27]
AS Police Flag of Senegal.svg Ibrahima Thomas [27] Flag of Nigeria.svg Jawachi Nzeakor [29] Flag of the United States.svg Mylo Mitchell [27]
FAP Flag of Niger.svg Abdoulaye Harouna [30] Flag of the United States.svg Marcus Thomas [30] Flag of the United States.svg Matthew Hezekiah
Ferroviário de Maputo Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Adjehi Baru [31] Flag of Spain.svg Álvaro Calvo Masa [31] Flag of the United States.svg Demarcus Holland [31] Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Myck Kabongo
GNBC Flag of the United States.svg Cameron Ridley [32]
GS Pétroliers
Patriots Flag of the United States.svg Jermaine Cole [33] Flag of Kenya.svg Bush Wamukota [34] Flag of the United States.svg Brandon Costner [33]
Petro de Luanda Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ryan Richards [35] Flag of the United States.svg Antwan Scott [27]
Rivers Hoopers Flag of Uganda.svg Robinson Opong [36] Flag of the United States.svg Chris Daniels [37] Flag of the United States.svg Taren Sullivan [37]
US Monastir Flag of South Sudan.svg Ater Majok [22] Flag of Lebanon.svg Wael Arakji [22] Flag of the United States.svg Chris Crawford [27]
Zamalek Flag of Nigeria.svg Chinemelu Elonu [38] Flag of Nigeria.svg Michael Fakuade [39] Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg Walter Hodge [22] Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Mouloukou Diabate [40]


Venues

Africa location map.svg
Location of venues of the 2020 BAL season.
Red pog.svg Red: Sahara Conference; Yellow pog.svg Yellow: Nile Conference; Black pog.svg Grey: Playoffs & Finals.

On 1 August 2019, the NBA announced the seven host cities for the regular season. [7] Six cities in six countries would host the regular season games, with three assigned to each conference. The Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda was announced as venue for the inaugural Final Four. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, it was later decided that the entire event was to be played at the Kigali Arena. [4]

Proposed venues of the inaugural BAL season before the format change
ArenaCapacityLocation
Dakar Arena
15,000
Dakar, Senegal
Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex
16,500
Cairo, Egypt
Salle El Bouâzzaoui
2,000
Salé, Morocco
Kilamba Arena
12,270
Luanda, Angola
Kigali Arena (Final Four)
10,000
Kigali, Rwanda
National Stadium
3,000 [41]
Lagos, Nigeria
Mohamed-Mzali Sports Hall
4,075
Monastir, Tunisia

Schedule

PhaseRoundDraw dateGames
QualifyingFirst round9 October 201915 October – 3 November 2019
Elite 1621 November 201926 November – 22 December 2019
Group phase29 March 202116–24 May 2021
PlayoffsQuarter-finals26–27 May 2021
Semi-finals29 May 2021
Final and third place30 May 2021

Qualifying tournaments

The official reveal of the Basketball Africa League logo during the qualifiers in Kigali Basketball Africa League logo reveal.jpg
The official reveal of the Basketball Africa League logo during the qualifiers in Kigali

In the qualifying rounds, 32 teams from 32 countries participated in the West and East Division. The first round began 15 October and ended 3 November 2019, with sixteen teams advancing to the second round. The second-round games began 26 November and will end 22 December 2019, with six teams qualifying for the regular season.

Rosters

Transactions

Group phase

BAL players wearing masks due to the measurements taken against COVID-19 at the tournament BAL Masks.jpg
BAL players wearing masks due to the measurements taken against COVID-19 at the tournament

The group phase began on 16 May 2021 and ended on 24 May 2021. Initially, it was planned that in the regular season, the twelve teams would play in two Conferences with six teams each. Each team would play five games, one against each opponent, inside its conference. The top three teams from each conference would advance to the Super 6. [42] The regular season would be played in six arenas divided over the African continent. [42]

The format was changed to a group phase as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was completely played at the Kigali Arena. In three groups of four each team plays the other one time and the first, second and best third-placed teams advance to the playoffs. [4]

Group A

PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualification USM PAT RIV GNB
1 Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir 330303211+926Advance to playoffs 91–75
2 Flag of Rwanda.svg Patriots (H)321236223+135 83–60 78–72
3 Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers 312210251414 70–99
4 Flag of Madagascar.svg GNBC 303207271643 66–113 69–80
Source: BAL
(H) Hosts

Group B

PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualification PDL ASS FAP POL
1 Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda 330247208+396Advance to playoffs 97–78 84–66
2 Flag of Morocco.svg AS Salé 32125326075 87–84 88–79
3 Flag of Cameroon.svg FAP 312235218+174 64–66 87–65
4 Flag of Mali.svg AS Police 303210259493
Source: BAL

Group C

PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualification ZAM FVM ASD GSP
1 Flag of Egypt.svg Zamalek 330254181+736Advance to playoffs 71–55 97–64
2 Flag of Mozambique.svg Ferroviário de Maputo 321229218+115 88–74
3 Flag of Senegal.svg AS Douanes 312230250204 62–86 94–76
4 Flag of Algeria.svg GS Pétroliers 303213277643 73–86
Source: BAL

Ranking of third-placed teams

PosGrpTeamPldWLPFPAPDPtsQualification
1 B Flag of Cameroon.svg FAP 312235218+174Advance to playoffs
2 C Flag of Senegal.svg AS Douanes 312230250204
3 A Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers 312210251414
Source: BAL

Playoffs

All eight qualified teams from the group stage were ranked and seeded to determine the match-ups. The play-offs games were played in a single-elimination format. [4] [43] The playoffs began on 26 May and ended on 30 May 2021 with the 2021 BAL Finals. [44]

Bracket

 
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
 
          
 
27 May
 
 
1
Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir
86
 
29 May
 
8
Flag of Senegal.svg AS Douanes
62
 
1
Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir
87
 
27 May
 
4
Flag of Rwanda.svg Patriots
46
 
4
Flag of Rwanda.svg Patriots
73
 
30 May
 
5
Flag of Mozambique.svg Ferroviário de Maputo
71
 
1
Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir
63
 
26 May
 
2
Flag of Egypt.svg Zamalek
76
 
2
Flag of Egypt.svg Zamalek
82
 
29 May
 
7
Flag of Cameroon.svg FAP
53
 
2
Flag of Egypt.svg Zamalek
89
 
26 May
 
3
Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda
71 Third place game
 
3
Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda
79
 
30 May
 
6
Flag of Morocco.svg AS Salé
72
 
4
Flag of Rwanda.svg Patriots
68
 
 
3
Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda
97
 

Final standings

PositionTeamRecord
1 Flag of Egypt.svg Zamalek 6–0
2 Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir 5–1
3 Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda 5–1
4 Flag of Rwanda.svg Patriots 3–3
5 Flag of Mozambique.svg Ferroviário de Maputo 2–2
6 Flag of Morocco.svg AS Salé 2–2
7 Flag of Cameroon.svg FAP 1–3
8 Flag of Senegal.svg AS Douanes 1–3
9 Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers 1–2
10 Flag of Mali.svg AS Police 0–3
11 Flag of Algeria.svg GS Pétroliers 0–3
12 Flag of Madagascar.svg GNBC 0–3

Awards

Statistics

The following were the statistical leaders in 2021 BAL season. [49]

Team statistic leaders

CategoryTeamStatistic
Points per game US Monastir 89.9
Rebounds per game FAP 42.0
Assists per gameUS Monastir24.4
Steals per game11.0
Blocks per game Rivers Hoopers 5.3
Turnovers per game GS Pétroliers 22.0
Fouls per game25.7
FG% Zamalek 49.9%
FT% Ferroviário de Maputo 78.9%
3FG%US Monastir36.1%

Controversies

The BAL has faced criticism by The Guardian over its close ties with the Rwandan government in organising the league, using the league as a vehicle for sportswashing by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, pointing to ongoing repression and human rights abuses under his regime. [50]

On May 10, 2021, American rapper J. Cole signed a contract with the Rwanda-based Patriots. [51] In three games with the team, he scored five points, had three assists and five rebounds in 45 minutes of gameplay. Terrell Stoglin of AS Salé states about the signing: "For a guy who has so much money and has another career to just come here and average, like, one point a game and still get glorified is very disrespectful to the game. It's disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this." [52]

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