Event | 2022 BAL season | ||||||||||||||||||
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Date | 28 May 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
Venue | BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda | ||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Michael Dixon, US Monastir | ||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | US Monastir (1.38 decimal odds) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Referees | Hortensia Sanchez-Carrizales Wael Ibrahim Mostafa Marie Leslie Cherubin | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 10,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2022 BAL Finals was the championship game of the 2022 BAL season, the second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The final was played in the BK Arena in Kigali on 28 May 2022, between Angolan club Petro de Luanda and Tunisian club US Monastir.
US Monastir won the game after pulling away in the fourth quarter, winning its first BAL and its first African continental title. The game was attended by a sold-out crowd of 10,000. [2]
In the following table, finals in the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup are in small text.
Team | Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners) |
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US Monastir | 1 (2021) |
Petro de Luanda | None 8 (1994, 1999, 2000, 2006 , 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015 ) |
On 9 December 2021, The BK Arena, then named the "Kigali Arena", was announced as the venue of the 2022 BAL Playoffs. [3] This was the second consecutive final that was held at the arena.
Kigali | 2022 BAL finals (Africa) |
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BK Arena | |
Capacity: 10,000 | |
Petro de Luanda qualified as the champions of the 2020–21 season and brought back Brazilian coach José Neto for a second season. The core of its roster remained intact, with Anderson Correia and Yanick Moreira being signed as reinforcements on 15 March 2022. [4] [5]
Petro had its most successful season in history, as the team won the 2021–22 Angolan Basketball League with an unbeaten record of 33–0. On 11 May 2022, it captured its 15th national title after sweeping Interclube in the national finals. [6] As the team also won the Angolan Cup and the Angolan Supercup, it captured its first national treble.
In the 2022 BAL Nile Conference, Petro ended in second place after losing only to Zamalek. On 8 May, American guard E. C. Matthews was added to the roster ahead of the playoffs. [7] After defeating AS Salé in a re-match of last season's quarterfinal, Petro defeated FAP to reach its first-ever BAL final and its ninth African continental final.
US Monastir qualified for its second straight BAL season after winning the 2020–21 Championnat National A title. In the offseason, the club lost its All-BAL star players Omar Abada and Makrem Ben Romdhane in the offseason as they signed in Saudi Arabia and Portugal respectively. The roster was strengthened with Solo Diabate and Michael Dixon, however, while Ater Majok re-signed.
In its domestic competitions, Monastir had another dominant season as it captured its fourth consecutive national title on 11 May 2022, having defeated Ezzahra Sports in the finals. Three days later, on 14 May, Monastir also won the Tunisian Cup to complete the double. [8]
In the 2022 BAL Sahara Conference, Monastir finished second after a surprising loss against Rwandan club REG. Ahead of the playoffs, the team was strengthened with American guard Julius Coles Jr. [9] In the quarterfinals, the team blew out Cape Town Tigers by a season-high 39 points difference. In the semifinals, the team defeated Zamalek to take revenge for the previous season's final loss.
Petro de Luanda | Round | US Monastir | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Opponent | Result | Group phase | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cape Town Tigers | 90–61 | Round 1 | Ferroviário da Beira | 77–71 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cobra Sport | 92–56 | Round 2 | SLAC | 76–55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Zamalek | 72–85 | Round 3 | AS Salé | 96–90 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FAP | 73–60 | Round 4 | DUC | 74–62 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Espoir Fukash | 94–64 | Round 5 | REG | 74–77 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nile Conference second place
| Regular season | Sahara Conference second place
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Opponent | Result | Playoffs | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AS Salé | 102–89 | Quarterfinals | Cape Town Tigers | 106–67 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FAP | 88–74 | Semifinals | Zamalek | 88–81 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
US Monastir won the first quarter 17–18. In the second quarter, Petro de Luanda made a 8–0 run that included three-point field goals by Gerson Gonçalves and Carlos Morais, to end the first half with a 40–33 lead. Monastir shot 0-8 from behind the three-point line in the first half, and the Tunisian bench was outscored 17–2 by the Angolans. [10] Following free-throw misses and turnovers by Petro in the third quarter, Monastir only trailed 57–59. Michael Dixon scored a three-pointer to put Monastir up 60–59, their first lead in the second half. Petro big men Jone Pedro and Yanick Moreira were both fouled out with 8 minutes and 1 minutes to go, respectively. With three minutes to play, Carlos Morais made an unsportsmanlike foul on which Monastir capitalise to take a 72–67 lead. The game was sealed with 30 seconds to go after Radhouane Slimane picked up an offensive rebound after a Julius Coles Jr. miss and scored the basket to put Monastir up 78–72. Following a Petro de Luanda time-out, Monastir forward Firas Lahyani stole the ball which gave Petro no chance to come back. Michael Dixon shot 7-of-10 from the field and had 21 points and 6 assists in the game, and following his superb performance, he was named the BAL Most Valuable Player, following Walter Hodge as the second-ever winner of the award. Monastir center Ater Majok, who scored 14 points in the game, was named the BAL Defensive Player of the Year. Gerson Gonçalves scored 28 points for the losing Angolan side, followed by Yanick Moreira's 18 points off the bench. [10]
28 May 2022 | Petro de Luanda | 72–83 | US Monastir | Kigali |
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18:00 CAT | Scoring by quarter: 17–18, 23–15, 19–24, 13–26 | |||
Pts: Gonçalves 28 Rebs: Moreira 7 Asts: Gonçalves 4 PIR: Gonçalves 27 | Boxscore | Pts: Dixon, Lahyani 21 Rebs: Lahyani 10 Asts: Dixon 6 PIR: Lahyani 24 | Arena: BK Arena Attendance: 10,000 Referees: Hortensia Sanchez-Carrizales, Wael Ibrahim Mostafa, Marie Leslie Cherubin |
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To honour their championship, US Monastir was received at the Carthage Palace by Tunisian President Kais Saied. [11] The team was also congratulated on Twitter by Barack Obama, former President of the United States and an investor in the BAL. [12]
Carlos Edilson Alcântara Morais is an Angolan basketball player for the Petro de Luanda of the Angolan Basketball League. Standing at 1.93 m, he plays as shooting guard, or small forward.
Ater James "AJ" Majok is a professional basketball player for US Monastir of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Born in Sudan and raised in Australia, Majok represents Lebanon internationally. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2011 NBA draft with the 58th overall pick. Standing at 6 ft 11 in, Majok mostly stands out with his athletic and defensive abilities. He was the BAL Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
Mouloukou Souleyman Diabate, commonly known as Solo Diabate, is an Ivorian basketball player for Al Ahly Benghazi of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). After playing a decade in France and some years in North Macedonia, China and Slovakia, Diabate began his career at the African continent in 2021. He is a two-time BAL champion, with Zamalek in 2021 and US Monastir in 2022.
Atlético Petróleos de Luanda, commonly known as Petro de Luanda, is an Angolan basketball club based in Luanda. It competes at the local level, at the Luanda Provincial Basketball Championship and at the Angola National Basketball Championship. Additionally, the club plays at the continental level, at the Basketball Africa League (BAL), which they have won in 2024.
Yanick Pires Moreira is an Angolan professional basketball player who plays for Petro de Luanda of the Angolan Basketball League and the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He played two seasons of college basketball for the SMU Mustangs.
José Alves dos Santos Neto is a Brazilian professional basketball coach. He is the current head coach of the Brazil women's national basketball team.
Union Sportive Monastirienne, commonly known as US Monastir, is a Tunisian professional basketball club based in Monastir. Established in 1959, the team plays in the Pro A the first division league in Tunisia and has won seven national championships. Monastir also plays in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) since the inaugural season in 2021. Home games are played in the Mohamed-Mzali Sports Hall.
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Aboubakar Pedro Gakou is an Angolan basketball player who plays for Petro de Luanda and the Angola national team. Standing at 2.01 m, he plays as power forward.
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The 2022 BAL Playoffs was the second edition of the playoffs of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and was the concluding tournament of the 2022 BAL season. The playoffs began on 21 May 2022 and ended on 28 May 2022 with the Finals. For a second consecutive season, all playoffs games were played at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
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