March 5, 2022
BAL SEASON TWO GETS UNDERWAY WITH DUC AND SLAC
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Two teams that never faced each other before, an array of terrific shooters, and that’s how the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season Two will get underway on Saturday, March 5th when host Dakar Universite Club (DUC) takes on SLAC at Dakar Arena.
The DUC v SLAC clash will mark the start of the Sahara Conference, which will run until Tuesday, March 15th in Dakar, Senegal.
A quick look into the teams strengths and weaknesses, and the result is that there are more similarities than differences between the two sides although DUC may benefit from the homecourt advantage backed by an enthusiast home crowd.
Bamba Diallo and Thierno Niang – two shooting guards – with international recognition are expected to take leading roles offensively.
Diallo and Niang have, at some point in their careers, represented the Senegalese national team on the bug stage and the BAL may just be another chance to make a difference for a team that aims big in the second edition of the BAL.
“He has played in the BAL [for AS Douanes] before, and he can be a massive help for us, “ said DUC head coach Partfait Adjivon when asked about the signing of Diallo.
As well as Diallo and Niang, DUC Big-Three may be complete with Jordan Aboudou, a 31-year-old French player, who has spent a significant part of his career in PRO-A, France’s topflight League.
Adjivon has led his country as recently as the 2021 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, sparking the young Lions to the 7th Place, the best result Senegal has ever achieved in the history of the tournament.
If DUC can get started with a win, they will need to be aggressive on the defense end, where the SLAC counts with some excellent executers.
Marcus Crawford, for instance, was vital in helping US Monastir reach the BAL Final last May in Kigali.
The 29-year-old shooting guard joined the Guinean champions three days before the Sahara Conference, but he says that he can’t wait to live the BAL atmosphere again.
“I can come in and gel in and mix well with a different group of guys. I am a team guy first. I feel like we’ll be ready [against DUC],” the 6’3” said in an exclusive chat with the bal.nba.com.
Crawford who scored 48 of his 84 points from behind the arc in the inaugural BAL, recalled that team unity will be a factor if they are to move on to the Playoffs in May in Kigali.
“It should be a lot of fun. There’s going to be a lot of energy. Exciting for me and my guys.”
“I am feeling more ready than ever. I feel like shooting is a strong attribute that I have of my game, but definitely not the only part of my game. We are just eager to show what we can do as a team,” Crawford stressed.
“We just need to be together. We can do a lot of things if everybody is on the same page and everybody has the same goal. We just want to get one game at a time and execute our game plan,” Crawford said.
The DUC vs SLAC is the first of 38 games for the BAL Season Two.