BAL SEASON TWO SET TO TIP OFF

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is here for its second season, and Dakar is the starting point for six of the twelve African champions to lift the trophy in May in Kigali.

From Saturday, March 5th to Tuesday March 15, six teams from the Sahara Conference will play each other for the right to secure a spot in the eight-team Playoffs in Kigali.

Six other teams from Nile Conference will begin their race for Kigali from April 9-19 in Cairo.

To advance to the Playoffs, teams must finish in the top four places from each Conference, while the teams that finish in the last two places will be eliminated.

There will be a lot at stack in the BAL over the next ten days, and bal.nba.com brings you the uniqueness of the Sahara Conference set to compete in the Senegalese capital.

Among the various reasons that make the Sahara Conference a must-watch event is the fact that four of the six teams are new to the competition with some new talents set to make their introduction to the basketball world.

All games will be broadcast live to over 215 countries.

Runners-up from the inaugural BAL season US Monastir and AS Salé are returning for a second stint in the league while SLAC (Guinea), DUC (Senegal), Ferroviario da Beira (Mozambique) and REG (Rwanda) are all making their debut in the league.

Here are some key facts about the Sahara Conference in Dakar:

Two female coaches in the BAL

Australian Liz Mills, who has served as Patriots BC assistant coach in the Last Eight Round of the BAL Qualifiers two years ago, and recently coached Kenya men’s national team, is set to become the first female head coach of a BAL team.

Mills has taken the reigns of Morocco’s AS Salé, a team with a successful track record on the continent of Africa.

Another female coach in the BAL is Khardiata Diop, who represented Senegal at three editions of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

One of Diop’s career’s highlights was her appearance as a player at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Diop serves as assistant coach with DUC.

DUC and Thierno Niang

Thierno Niang, a 31-year-old point guard, who has represented his country at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and at several other continental tournaments, is the go-to-guy for the ‘students’ of Dakar.

Niang, who spent the last two seasons of his College basketball career with the Milwaukee Panthers, heads to the BAL after propelling DUC to the 2022 National 1 Masculin title where they dethroned former BAL participant and local rivals AS Douanes.

As a result of his impressive display, Niang was named the National 1 Masculin Finals Most Valuable Player.

The 6’2” guard is a terrific ball handler with an ability to attack the rim and shoot from outside. Niang will be joined by another three-point specialist Bamba Diallo, who joined DUC from AS Douanes. 

Seydou Legacy Athletique Club (SLAC)

The recent continental story of SLAC started three years ago when the Guinean champions qualified for the 2019 FIBA Africa Basketball League (Not BAL), but failed to win a game in the Group Phase.

Things evolved since then, and SLAC did everything right to reach the BAL for the very first time after a 3-3 mark in the BAL qualifying campaign.

Dane Miller Jr arrived in Dakar as the heart-and-soul of SLAC.

The 6’8” forward averaged team-highs 16.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the BAL qualifying run.

SLAC is coached by Zeljko Zecevic, who has guided Sahara Conference opponents US Monastir to the Third-Place of the 2017 FIBA African Champions Cup and was in charge of 2019 FIBA Afroleague runners-up AS Salé.

Zecevic strengthened his team with the signings of shot blocker specialist and rebounder Chris Obekpa, sharpshooter Marcus Crawford, who suited up for US Monastir in the BAL Season One, and brought in forward Josh Nzeakor who played for AS Police before joining NBA G League Memphis Hustle.

Souleymane Diabate

Ten months ago, Ivorian Souleymane Diabate came off the bench with clatch plays to help Zamalek beat US Monastir in the BAL Final in Kigali.

In the Championship Game, Diabate sank 3 threes, dished out six assists as Zamalek lifted the BAL trophy thanks to a 76-63 triumph ober US Monastir.

Fast forward to March 2022, and the 34-year-old guard has switched allegiances to the Tunisian champions, a team that has brought elite defender Majok James, a South Sudan native who plays internationally for Lebanon.

AS Salé are chasing first podium finish since 2017

Winners of the 2017 FIBA Africa Champions Cup, AS Salé head to the BAL Season 2 with an intriguing roster.

Terrell Stoglin, who holds a record for most points scored in a BAL game (40 points) is back with the Moroccan champions, but can they make it to the Playoffs?

The Moroccans fell to Petro de Luanda in the Quarter-Finals last season.

Spaniard Alvaro Masa, who played a major role in helping Mozambique outfit Ferroviario de Maputo reach the Playoffs, and Nigerien Abdoulaye Harouna have joined AS Salé, who kept the core of the team from the past few seasons.

Ferroviario da Beira aim high in Dakar

With the majority of the squad that dominated the Elite 16 Round of the BAL Qualifiers in Johannesburg in December 2021 returning for the BAL regular season, the Mozambican champions aim to do better than their local rivals Ferroviario de Maputo.

“We have the talent, the potential and chemistry to go all the way,” said a Beira player in a quick chat with theBAL.com.

Both Jermelle Kennedy and Perry William are expected to keep their leading roles in a team that recruited Randy Ozoemena Onwuasor, who last played for G League Salt Lake Stars, Prince Ifeanyi Orizu, and NBA student Reuben Abuchi Chinyelu.

Former NBA player set for BAL coaching job

With a total of seven Rwandan international players, who represented their country last week in the Window 2 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers, REG are making sure to reach the Playoffs and play in front of their home fans.

And the signing of former NBA player Robert Pack as head coach reflects the clubs’ ambition in the BAL.

Pack has length coaching career, having served as assistant coach with the LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Washington Wizards.

The former point guard spent 13 seasons of his NBA career playing seven different teams, including the Washington Wizards, Portland Trailblazers, Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Hornets.

This is Pack’s first coaching experience in Africa.