May 8, 2026

A comparison of the 2026 Kalahari and Sahara Conferences

Even before the 2026 Sahara Conference ended on 3 May, one of the most frequently discussed topics in diverse circles was which conference (Kalahari or Sahara) was the most competitive, had the better teams, and was the most entertaining.

Each conference played 15 games in two different locations across Africa.

*Mangok Ayub #45 and Leonard Randall II #12 of the RSSB Tigers celebrate during the game against Dar City Basketball Club on April 4, 2026, at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.*

In Pretoria, South Africa, the RSSB Tigers (Rwanda), Petro de Luanda (Angola), Al Ahly Ly (Libya), Dar City (Tanzania), Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya) and Johannesburg Giants (South Africa) provided fans packed into the SunBet Arena with breathtaking moments of basketball.

Meanwhile, in the Moroccan capital Rabat, Club Africain (Tunisia), Al Ahly (Egypt), FUS Rabat (Morocco), ASC Ville de Dakar (Senegal), Maktown Flyers (Nigeria) and JCA Kings (Côte d'Ivoire) kept fans on the edge of their seats for most of the eight game days at the Moulay Abdellah Arena.

We examined the fact files of both conferences and analysed the figures presented in this article. We will leave the conclusions to our readers.

TEAMS' BAL HISTORY

Three of the six Kalahari Conference teams – Dar City, the Johannesburg Giants and RSSB Tigers – played in the BAL for the first time.

More than half of the teams competing in Pretoria – Al Ahly, Dar City, Nairobi City Thunder and the Johannesburg Giants – secured their places in the 2026 BAL season after successful campaigns in the Road to BAL qualifiers, while two others, Petro de Luanda and RSSB Tigers, qualified automatically.

Five of the six Sahara Conference teams – Al Ahly, Club Africain, FUS Rabat, ASC Ville de Dakar and Maktown Flyers – qualified automatically for the 2026 BAL season, while the JCA Kings finished 7–1 in the Road to BAL qualifiers.

Club Africain, Maktown Flyers and JCA Kings all played in the BAL for the first time.

WIN-LOSS MARGINS

Clesio Castro #14, Javion Blake #3, Peter Jok #7 and Childe Dundao #5 of the Petro De Luanda look on during the game against Dar City Basketball Club on April 3, 2026, at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.

While 11 out of 15 Sahara Conference games were won by a margin of nine points or fewer, this was the case for only five out of 15 Kalahari Conference games.

Petro de Luanda’s 44-point win margin against the Johannesburg Giants (105-61) was the largest across both conferences, while FUS Rabat’s 30-point win (85–55) against the JCA Kings was the largest in the Sahara Conference.

Unlike the Kalahari Conference, where no games went to overtime, two games in the Sahara Conference required extra time. This included the second double-overtime game in BAL history, between FUS Rabat and Al Ahly.

SCORING DISPARITY

*Kevin Murphy #33 and Zachary Lofton #11 of Al Ahly look on during the game against the Maktown Flyers on April 29, 2026, at Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco.*

Five teams from the Kalahari Conference – Al Ahly Ly (520), Petro de Luanda (484), RSSB Tigers (483), Dar City (454) and Nairobi City Thunder (407) – scored more points than the highest scoring team in the Sahara Conference, Al Ahly, who scored 395 points over five games.

Of the Sahara Conference teams, FUS Rabat (339), Al Ahly (357), ASC Ville de Dakar (364) and Club Africain (369) allowed fewer points across five games than Petro de Luanda (378), the Kalahari Conference team that gave up the fewest points.

FIELD-GOAL

While FUS Rabat recorded the highest field-goal percentage average in the Sahara Conference at 42.4%, four teams from the Kalari Conference averaged above that, including Petro de Luanda with the highest average at 50%.

HOW DID THE DEBUTANT TEAMS DO?

Club Africain and RSSB Tigers, two debutant teams, finished top of their respective conferences with win-loss records of 4–1 each.

First-timers BAL Club Africain, Dar City and RSSB Tigers have all qualified for the play-offs.

BAL RECORDS

The 2026 Kalahari Conference wasn’t short of stellar individual performances.

RSSB Tigers' shooting guard, Craig Randall II, set a BAL scoring record with 54 points in the 104–92 win against Dar City. In the same game, Randall II set a record for most three-pointers (11) in a game.

Zack Lofton’s 32 points were the most scored in a 2026 Sahara Conference game.

Al Ahly Ly’s Damion Baugh recorded the first triple-double in BAL history on 4 April 2026, in a 110–72 victory against Dar City. Baugh finished with 11 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds. In the same game, Baugh set a new BAL assists record with 18.

While FUS Rabat’s 97-72 win were the most points scored by a team in the Sahara Conference, for the first time in BAL history, ten games saw a team score 100 points or more in the Kalahari Conference.

PACKED ARENAS

A total of 38,677 fans flocked to the SunBet Arena for the Kalahari Conference, while 34,675 watched the games live at the Moulay Abdellah Arena for the Sahara Conference.

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