Sahara Conference

Last updated

Sahara Conference
Sahara Conference logo.png
League Basketball Africa League
Sport Basketball
Founded2022
First season2022
No. of teams4
(2024–present)
6
(2022–2023)
Venue(s) Dakar Arena
Most recent
champion(s)
Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers (1st title)
(2024)
Sports current event.svg 2024 BAL Sahara Conference

The Sahara Conference is one of the three conferences that make up the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the other two being the Nile Conference and the Kalahari Conference. All conferences currently consist of four teams.

Contents

The conference alignment began in the 2022 season, although plans to have conferences were already set up before the inaugural season. Named after the Sahara, the conference has been played at a single venue thus far, the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal for the past two seasons.

Venues

From 2022 to 2024, all games of the Sahara Conference were played at the Dakar Arena located in Dakar. [a]

Current standings

PosTeamPldWLGFGAGDPCTQualification
1 Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers 642441413+28.667Advance to playoffs
2 Flag of Senegal.svg AS Douanes (H)633409385+24.500 [b]
3 Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir 63343745013.500 [b]
4 Flag of Rwanda.svg APR 62443247139.333
Source: BAL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. Officially, the Dakar Arena is located in the town of Diamniadio.
  2. 1 2 Head-to-head: AS Douanes 1–1 US Monastir, AS Douanes won on aggregrate point difference (+1).

Teams

Advertisement for the Sahara Conference in 2023 2023 BAL Dakar advertisement.png
Advertisement for the Sahara Conference in 2023

2024 teams

TeamLocationConference

appearances

Flag of Senegal.svg AS Douanes Dakar, Senegal 3
Flag of Rwanda.svg APR Kigali, Rwanda 1
Flag of Tunisia.svg US Monastir Monastir, Tunisia 3
Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers Port Harcourt, Nigeria 1

Conference winners

Although no official trophy or title is awarded, the team ending at the top of the standings in the conference is lauded as "Conference winners" by the BAL.

Sahara Conference results
SeasonWinnersConference

record

Playoffs resultRef.
2022 (Details) Flag of Rwanda.svg REG (RWA)Lost in quarter-finals [1]
2023 (Details) Flag of Mali.svg Stade Malien (MLI)Won third place game [2]
2024 (Details) Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers (NGR)Won third place game

Titles by team

TeamTitlesSeason(s) won
Flag of Rwanda.svg REG 1 2022
Flag of Mali.svg Stade Malien 1 2023
Flag of Nigeria.svg Rivers Hoopers 1 2024

Standings

^Denotes team that won the BAL championship
+Denotes team that lost in the BAL finals
*Denotes team that qualified for the BAL playoffs
SeasonPositions (by team)
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th
2022 REG*
(4–1)
Monastir^
(4–1)
AS Salé* (3–2) SLAC*
(3–2)
Ferroviário
(1–4)
DUC
(1–4)
2023 Stade Malien*
(3–2)
AS Douanes +
(3–2)
REG* (3–2) ABC Fighters*
(3–2)
Monastir
(3–2)
Kwara Falcons
(0–5)
2024 Rivers Hoopers*
(4–2)
AS Douanes*
(3–3)
US Monastir*
(3–3)
APR
(2–4)

Notes

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    References

    1. "Rwanda's REG win Sahara leg, AS Sale into BAL playoffs". ESPN.com. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
    2. "How Stade Malien became Kings of Basketball Africa League Sahara Conference". OJB SPORT. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.