10 Takeaways from the first four games of the 2025 Kalahari Conference

There are still eight games left in the Kalahari Conference, but what we have seen in the first four games gives us food for thought.

Here are the 10 lessons we learned so far:

FUS Rabat fans

They sold out the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex on the opening day and, despite the home team's defeat to Al Ittihad, the local fans returned in considerable numbers for the second gameday.

Jordan needs more support

Jonathan Jordan has done it all for the hosts. The team's shortest player (5'10") not only leads his FUS Rabat team in rebounds (7.5 rpg) and assists (6.5 apg), but he also averages more minutes than any other player on the team at 34.5 per game.
Jordan is averaging 14.4 points per game.

Rivers Hoopers Fighting Spirit

The Nigerian champions have put on an impressive fighting spirit in the first two games. From fighting back some adversity to beating the home team in front of their rancorous fans base, the Hoopers made a statement of their intents in the league this season.

Bench support urgently needed

Four games into the Kalahari Conference campaign, the Hoopers sit atop of the standings with a perfect 2-0 record and a better points differential than Al Ittihad, who have the same number of wins.

One aspect of the Hoopers' play that cannot go unnoticed is the productivity of the starting lineup compared to the bench.

Hoopers' bench players have contributed a total of 26 of their 169 points. The Hoopers bench was outscored 24-5 against FUS Rabat.

Al Ittihad’s defense

They say defense wins championships, and that was proven by the way the Egyptian champions came back from a 12-point deficit to beat Stade Malien 72-69.

Stade Malien looked solid for most of the first three quarters, turning the ball over just six times, but a more aggressive Al Ittihad defense in the fourth quarter forced Stade Malien to turn the ball over seven times and finished with 13.

Al Ittihad have allowed the fewest points per game (64.5) so far.

Elevate players

Of the four BAL Elevate players, Rivers Hoopers David Ugonna Ike is the only one who has played in all two games so far.

The 18-year-old center is averaging 10.5 minutes per game.

In his first appearance against Stade Malien, the two-time BAL participant contributed 6 rebounds in the Hoopers' 81-60 win over Stade Malien.

The impact of the Amayo-Akec duo on Rivers Hoopers

Kelvin Amayo and Madut Akec faced each other three times in the 2024 BAL season, with the latter helping AS Douanes win two of those three games.

But Amayo and Akec are now the league's most productive offensive duo, leading the league with 21 points per game each.

Stade Malien remain defiant

Stade Malien are bottom of the 2025 Kalahari Conference standings with an 0-2 record and a -25 point differential.

However, Malien head coach Boubacar Kanoute remains defiant, promising a more combative and winning mentality in their next game against FUS Rabat, a team with whom they share a similar win-loss record.

Abysmal three-point display

In contrast to the Rivers Hoopers, who averaged eleven three-pointers in their first two games, FUS Rabat and Al Ittihad were among the worst three-point shooters, going 2-for-18 and 4-for-31 respectively in their first game of the season.

Who can close in the 2025 BAL Playoffs?

After each team has played two games, the question on everyone's lips is: Who will make it to the playoffs?

A quick look at the outcome of the 2024 BAL conferences says that three wins could be good enough for teams to make the BAL playoffs, which makes Gameday 3 even more intriguing as only one team will go 3-0.