Organising body | Basketball Africa League |
---|---|
Founded | 2021 |
First season | 2021 |
International cup(s) | FIBA Intercontinental Cup |
Current champions | Petro de Luanda (1st title) (2024) |
Most championships | 4 teams (1 title each) |
Website | thebal |
2022 BAL Finals |
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is a seasonal basketball league established in 2019 and first held in 2021. The league is open to national champions of FIBA Africa member countries. The finals of each season are played in a single-game format, which is held at an arena that is chosen by the BAL organisation.
The data below does not include the FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup, the predecessor of the BAL that was held from 1972 to 2019.
The first parentheses in the champions and runners-up columns indicate the teams' playoff seed. The second parentheses indicate the number of times that teams have appeared in an BAL Finals as well as each respective team's BAL Finals record to date.
Season | Year | Champions | Coach | Result | Runners-up | Coach | Arena | Attendance | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2021 | Zamalek (2)(1, 1–0) | Augustí Julbe | 76–63 | US Monastir (1) (1, 0–1) | Mounir Ben Slimane | Kigali Arena, Kigali, Rwanda | 1,789 [lower-alpha 1] | [1] |
2 | 2022 | US Monastir (2)(2, 1–1) | Miodrag Perišić | 83–72 | Petro de Luanda (2) (1, 0–1) | José Neto | BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda (2) | 10,000 | [2] [3] [4] |
3 | 2023 | Al Ahly (2) (1, 1–0) | Augustí Julbe | 80–65 | AS Douanes (2) (1, 0–1) | Pabi Gueye | BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda (3) | 7,532 | [5] |
4 | 2024 | Petro de Luanda (6) (2, 1–1) | Sergio Valdeolmillos | 107–94 | Al Ahly Ly (7) (1, 0–1) | Ivan Jeremić | BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda (4) | 6,404 | [6] |
Club | Titles | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
US Monastir | 1 | 1 | 2022 | 2021 |
Petro de Luanda | 1 | 1 | 2024 | 2022 |
Al Ahly | 1 | 0 | 2023 | — |
Zamalek | 1 | 0 | 2021 | — |
AS Douanes | 0 | 1 | — | 2023 |
Al Ahly Ly | 0 | 1 | — | 2024 |
Teams from three nations have been to a BAL final, and teams from two countries have won the competition thus far.
Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Egypt | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Tunisia | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Angola | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Senegal | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Libya | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Club | Titles | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Augustí Julbe | 2 | 0 | 2021, 2023 | — |
Miodrag Perišić | 1 | 0 | 2022 | — |
Sergio Valdeolmillos | 1 | 0 | 2024 | — |
Mounir Ben Slimane | 0 | 1 | — | 2021 |
José Neto | 0 | 1 | — | 2022 |
Pabi Guèye | 0 | 1 | — | 2023 |
Ivan Jeremić | 0 | 1 | — | 2024 |
The finals are played in a pre-determined venue, from 2021 to 2023 this was the BK Arena (formerly the Kigali Arena) in Kigali as the BAL agreed with the Rwandan Ministry of Sports. Later, the BAL and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) agreed to host the finals of 2024, 2026 and 2028 as well. [7]
Arena | Location | Finals | Years hosted |
---|---|---|---|
BK Arena [lower-alpha 2] | Kigali, Rwanda | 6 | 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026, 2028 |
Clubs denoted in italics lost the finals in the given year.
Year | Top scorer | Club | Points | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Michael Fakuade | Zamalek | 15 | |
2022 | Gerson Gonçalves | Petro de Luanda | 28 | |
2023 | Nuni Omot | Al Ahly | 22 | |
2024 | Nick Faust | Petro de Luanda | 24 | [8] |
Majok Deng | Al Ahly Ly |
No. of championships | Player | Position | Seasons | Championship teams | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Played | Winning Percentage | |||||
2 | Solo Diabate | G | 4 | 50% | Zamalek (2021) US Monastir (2022) | [9] |
Michael Fakuade | F | 2 | 100% | Zamalek (2021) Al Ahly (2023) | [9] | |
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.
Omar Abada is a Tunisian professional basketball player who plays for Al Ahly since 2023. Abada also plays for the Tunisia national basketball team.
The Rwanda Basketball League (RBL) (formerly the National Basketball League Rwanda) is the top professional basketball league in Rwanda. Its season usually runs from November to September. The winners of the NBL season qualify for the qualifiers for the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Patriots Basketball Club, also known as Patriots, is a professional basketball club based in Kigali, Rwanda. Established in 2014, it plays its home games at Amahoro Indoor Stadium. The team is a four-time champion of the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL).
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is the premier men's basketball league in Africa. Founded in 2019, the organization was established by both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
BK Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Kigali, Rwanda, used mostly for basketball and volleyball matches. Built and finished in 2019, it hosts sporting events and concerts. It is the biggest indoor arena in East Africa and is located next to the Amahoro Stadium.
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. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BAL held its inaugural season one year later as planned, with the season beginning in 2021. 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.
Rwanda Energy Group BBC, commonly known as REG, is a Rwandan basketball club based in Kigali. It is owned and named after the company Rwanda Energy Group Limited. It plays in the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL), the highest tier of basketball in Rwanda. REG has won the national championship thrice, in 2017, 2021 and 2022.
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.
The 2022 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 2, was the second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The season began on 2 March 2022 and ended with the Finals on 28 May 2022. The group phase was played in the Dakar Arena in Dakar and the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo. The playoffs and finals were played in the BK Arena in Kigali for a second year in a row.
Tom "Bush" Wamukota is a Kenyan professional basketball player for APR of the Rwanda Basketball League. He has played for the Kenya national team.
The 2021 BAL Playoffs were the inaugural playoffs of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and were the concluding tournament of the 2021 BAL season. The playoffs began on 26 May 2021 and ended on 30 May 2021 with the Finals. The entire playoffs were played at Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
The 2021 BAL Finals was the championship game of the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The final was played in the Kigali Arena in Kigali on 30 May 2021. The game was played between Egyptian club Zamalek and Tunisian club US Monastir.
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.
The 2023 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 3, was the third season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The season began on 11 March 2023 and ended on 27 May 2023. The playoffs were played in the BK Arena in Kigali, which hosted the final stage for a third season in a row. The regular season was played in Dakar, Senega and Cairo, Egypt, both venues hosted a conference for a second year in a row.
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.
The 2024 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 4, will be the 4th season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The season began on 9 March 2024 and will finish with the final on 1 June 2024, which will be played in the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda for a fourth consecutive season.
The 2023 BAL Final was the championship game of the 2023 BAL season, the third season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), and concluded the playoffs. The final was played on 27 May 2023 in the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, for a third year in a row. The final was contested by Egyptian club Al Ahly and Senegalese club AS Douanes.
The 2024 BAL final is the championship game of the 2024 BAL season, the third season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), and the conclusion of the playoffs. The final will be played on 1 June 2024 in the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, which hosts the final for a fourth consecutive year. The final was contested by Angolan club Petro de Luanda and Libyan club Al Ahly Ly.