2025 BAL season

Last updated

2025 BAL season
League Basketball Africa League
Sport Basketball
Duration4 April – 25 May 2024 (group phase)
6 – 14 June 2025 (playoffs)
Number of games48
Number of teams12
Seasons
2026 

The 2025 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 5, will be the 5th season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The season will begin on 5 April and end on 14 June 2024 with the final. [1] The playoffs and finals will be held in Pretoria, South Africa, for the first time. [2]

Contents

Petro de Luanda are the defending champions, having won the previous season. The winners will earn the right to play in the 2025 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

Venues

The Moroccan Royal Basketball Federation (FRMBB) announced on 12 November 2024 that Rabat would be one of the host cities of the first phase of the 2025 season. [3]

On 21 November 2024, the BAL announced that the group phase would be hosted in three countries, as the Nile Conference is hosted at the Salle Moulay Abdellah in Rabat, Morocco, the Sahara Conference in Dakar Arena, Dakar, Senegal, and the Kalahari Conference in the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda. [1] The playoffs and final will be played in the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. [1]

Qualification

The number of directly qualified teams changed from the previous four seasons, as the BAL now allocated eight direct slots to designated leagues and markets. As such, the champions of Morocco were given a direct spot in the tournament, while only five [2] teams would qualify through the Road to BAL. [4] FIBA Africa had reported that the champions of South Africa received direct qualification, [5] however, on 21 November 2025, the BAL announced that no direct spot was allocated. [2]

Teams

The defending champions Petro de Luanda were the first team to qualify, as they won the 2023–24 Angolan Basketball League on 12 May 2024 to qualify for a record-extending fifth season in a row. [6] Al Ittihad Alexandria will make its debut, becoming the third Egyptian club to play in the league and it is the greatest Egyptian basketball club in history. [7] ASCVD became the third Senegalese club to qualify following their Nationale 1 title. [8]

Method of qualification and statistics

TeamMethod of qualificationDate of qualificationApp.Previous yearCons.Best performanceRef.
Flag of Angola.svg Petro de Luanda 2023–24 Angolan Basketball League champions12 May 20245th 2024 5Champions (2024) [6]
Flag of Egypt.svg Al Ittihad Alexandria 2023–24 Egyptian Basketball Premier League champions13 June 20241st1 [7]
Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir 2023–24 Championnat Pro A champions27 June 20245th 2024 5Champions (2022) [9]
Flag of Senegal.svg ASCVD 2024 Nationale 1 champions27 June 20241st1 [8]
Flag of Rwanda.svg APR 2024 RBL season champions23 September 20242nd 2024 2Group stage (2024) [10]
Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers 2024 NBBF Premier League champions19 November 20243rd 2024 2Third Place (2024) [11]
Flag of Morocco.svg FUS Rabat 2023–24 Division Excellence champions10 July 20242nd 2024 2Quarterfinalist (2024) [12]
Flag of Libya.svg Al Ahli Tripoli Road to BAL West Division winners9 November 20241st1 [13]
Flag of Mali.svg Stade Malien Road to BAL West Division runners-up9 November 20242nd2Third Place (2023) [14]
Flag of Cape Verde.svg Kriol Star Road to BAL East Division finalist2 December 20241st1 [15]
Flag of Kenya.svg Nairobi City Thunder Road to BAL East Division finalist2 December 20241st1 [16]
Flag placeholder.svg TBD Road to BAL participant


Personnel

TeamHead coachCaptain
Al Ahli Tripoli Flag of Libya.svg Fouad Chakra
Al Ittihad Alexandria Flag of Egypt.svg Ahmed Omar Flag of Egypt.svg Ahmed El Sabbagh
ASCVD Flag of Senegal.svg Libasse Faye
APR
FUS Rabat
Kriol Star Flag of Portugal.svg Hugo Salgado Flag of Cape Verde.svg Joel Almeida
Nairobi City Thunder Flag of the United States.svg Brad Ibs Flag of Kenya.svg Tylor Ongwae
Petro de Luanda Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Valdeolmillos Flag of Angola.svg Childe Dundão
Rivers Hoopers Flag of Nigeria.svg Ogoh Odaudu
Stade Malien Flag of Mali.svg Boubacar Kanouté
US Monastir Flag of Egypt.svg Mohamed Kerdani Flag of Tunisia.svg Mokhtar Ghyaza

Pre-season

As the champions of the 2024 BAL season, Petro de Luanda played in the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup in September 2024. They finished in fifth place. [17]

Schedule

The full schedule for the season was officially released on 21 November 2024. [1]

PhaseRoundGames
Qualifying rounds

(Road to BAL)

First Round8 October – 1 November 2024
Elite 165 November – 3 December 2025
Group phaseNile Conference5 – 13 April 2025
Sahara Conference26 April – 5 May 2025
Kalahari Conference17 – 25 May 2025
Seeding games6 –14 June 2025
PlayoffsQuarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final and third place

Group phase

The group phase is played between 5 April and 25 May 2024. The twelve teams of the group phase are allocated into three conferences.

Tiebreakers

The ranking of teams in the regular season was determined as follows: [18] [19]

  1. Win-loss record;
  2. Head-to-head record;
  3. Point differential in the games between the respective teams;
  4. Number of points scored in the games between the respective teams;
  5. Average point differential in all games against other teams in the Conference;
  6. Average number of points scored in all games played against other teams in the Conference;
  7. Drawing.

Nile Conference

PosTeamPldWLGFGAGDPCTQualification FUS BBBCCCDDD
1 Flag of Morocco.svg FUS Rabat (H)000000Advance to playoffs
2Flag placeholder.svg000000
3Flag placeholder.svg000000Possibly advance to the playoffs
4Flag placeholder.svg000000
First match(es) will be played: unknown. Source: BAL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Sahara Conference

PosTeamPldWLGFGAGDPCTQualification AVD BBBCCCDDD
1 Flag of Senegal.svg Ville de Dakar (H)000000Advance to playoffs
2Flag placeholder.svg000000
3Flag placeholder.svg000000Possibly advance to the playoffs
4Flag placeholder.svg000000
First match(es) will be played: unknown. Source: BAL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Kalahari Conference

PosTeamPldWLGFGAGDPCTQualification APR BBBCCCDDD
1 Flag of Rwanda.svg APR 000000Advance to playoffs
2Flag placeholder.svg000000
3Flag placeholder.svg000000Possibly advance to the playoffs
4Flag placeholder.svg000000
First match(es) will be played: unknown. Source: BAL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Ranking of third-placed teams

PosGrpTeamPldWLPFPAPDPCTQualification
1 Sahara Flag placeholder.svg000000Advance to playoffs
2 Kalahari Flag placeholder.svg000000
3 Nile Flag placeholder.svg000000
Source: BAL

Playoffs

Notes

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