CAN BAL CHAMPIONS ZAMALEK LIFT THE 2022 FIBA INTERCONTINENTAL CUP?

Nine months have passed since Egypt giants Zamalek made history by winning the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) in Kigali. On Friday, February 11, Zamalek will return to the big stage as hosts of the 2022 FIBA Intercontinental Cup at Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo.

As well as Zamalek, the four-team tournament will convene the reigning champions of FIBA Americas Basketball Champions League Flamengo, of Brazil; FIBA Basketball Champions League champions Hereda San Pablo Burgos, of Spain and NBA G League champions Lakeland Magic.

2021 BAL champion will be defending their title on the continental stage taking on San Pablo Burgos at 18:00 GMT (20:00 local time), three hours after Lakeland Magic faces Flamengo. This year’s FIBA Intercontinental Cup marks the first-ever edition held on the continent of Africa.

Can BAL champions Zamalek lift the 2022 Intercontinental Cup trophy?

Zamalek has experienced a rebuilding process in recent months with only six members from the winning BAL squad remaining in the current team.

Three weeks ago, Will Voigt, who guided Nigeria to their first-ever FIBA AfroBasket title in 2015 and coached Angola for two years, became Zamalek’s third head coach in nine months following the departure of Greek Vangelis Angelou, who had taken over from Agusti Julbe.

Power forward/center Moustafa Elmekawi ‘Kejoo’, who played a major role in helping Zamalek lift the BAL trophy, revealed, in an exclusive interview with bal.nba.com , how excited he and the team are to face San Pablo Burgos on Friday.

“Burgos is the defending Intercontinental Cup champion and they are full of talented Spanish and international players that play together really well and we have a ton of respect for their club. We have been preparing very well for them and for the tournament and we are excited to showcase a great image for both Zamalek, Egyptian and African basketball in the Intercontinental Cup.” Kejoo, a regular member of the Egyptian national team, isn’t new to the big stage. Back in 2014, he made his FIBA Basketball World Cup debut in Spain at the age of 19.

The 6’9” power forward says that he has played in many international tournaments representing Egypt and Zamalek, but “this tournament is a special one as we are the first representatives and champions of the BAL season 1 representing Africa.

“We feel like we have a whole African continent’s dreams and aspirations on our shoulders. It is also so special we get to play in it for the first time in club history on our home soil in Egypt In front of the best fans in the world.”
The six members from the 2021 Zamalek squad include Ahmed Abdellatef, Anas Mahmoud, Eslam Salem Mohamed, Omar Hussein, Ahmed Yasser, and Moustafa Elmekawi ‘Kejoo’.

As well as signing coach Voigt, the Egyptian champions brought in sharpshooter D.J Strawberry – who plays internationally for Cameroon -; former AfroBasket MVP Ike Diogu; Dominican Republic guard Edgar Sosa and Filipino-American Mikhael McKinney.

Kejoo says that Voigt “has really helped us integrate together between new foreign additions and African additions to the team.
“The combination of his strong experience coaching international clubs and national teams along with our pride to want to represent Egypt and Africa well is going to be our driving key to success in the Intercontinental Cup and beyond.”

Asked about the impact of the BAL on his career and Zamalek’s expectations for the BAL season 2, Kejoo noted that “BAL season 1 was one the of best organized and most memorable tournaments in my professional tenure career in basketball. The NBA and FIBA really staged an exciting tournament in season 1 that I know will only get better in season 2 both from a competition level of teams and we will be the team to beat every game as the defending BAL season 1 champion. We are excited to play in front of our fans in the group stages and to hopefully go back to Kigali Arena and compete for another BAL championship we can bring back to our beloved Zamalek fan base.”

Talking about Zamalek’s current form in the Egyptian Super League, the 27-year-old admitted that they have faced some ups and downs, but he emphasised that team “made it through some valleys and peaks in our season. We are excited to be healthy as a team and to start playoffs for the Egyptian super league against Egyptian Telecom after the Intercontinental Cup tournament.”

The winners of Friday’s two semi-finals will battle it out for the crown of the 2022 Intercontinental Cup on Sunday, three hours before the Third-Place game.

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