DIARRA, OMOT, GUEYE, PERRY HIGHLIGHT 2023 BAL AWARDS

The 2023 BAL season finished on Saturday, May 27 with Al Ahly crowned champions of the season after beating AS Douanes in the Final at BK Arena in Kigali.

Besides the Championship Game title, a number of awards were announced to culminate a season that saw twelve clubs compete over 38 games across three African cities.

OMOT WINS MVP

Al Ahly’s Nuni Omot was named the 2023 BAL Most Valuable Player.

The South Sudanese forward highlighted the All-BAL First Team alongside AS Douanes' Chris Crawford and Jean Jacques Boissy, Aliou Diarra (Stade Malien) and Dane Miller (SLAC).

Omot led Al Ahly with a game-high of 22 points to help the Egyptian champions beat AS Douanes 80-65 in the 2023 BAL Final.

He averaged 18.9 points in eight games.

PERRY WINS MANUTE BOL AWARD

William Perry, who set a record for most three-points made in a single game, during a 102-92 win over SLAC, received the Manute Bol Sportsmanship award.

DIARRA WINS DPY AWARD

Aliou Diarra, one of the top performers of the 2023 BAL season, won the Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the Year.

In addition to the his defensive recognition, Diarra emerged as one of the top performers of the season as he became the first player in the history of the competition to register eight straight double-doubles.

Diarra averaged 18.3 points, he averaged the league with 12.8 rebounds and 2.3 block shots per game.

All-BAL Defensive Team

The All-BAL Defensive Team consisted of Childe Dundao (Petro de Luanda), Jean Jacques Boissy (AS Douanes), Samkelo Celo (Cape Town Tigers), Aliou Diarra (Stade Malien) and Ater Majok (Petro de Luanda).

COACH OF THE YEAR

Mamadou Gueye won the 2023 BAL Coach of the Year.

The AS Douanes head coach led his team to a 3-2 record in the Sahara Conference group phase before defeating Mozambique’s Clube Ferroviário da Beira (CFV-Beira) and Petro de Luanda to advance to the Finals.

Gueye finished the 2023 season with 5-3 record.

City Oilers guard Falando Jones won the scoring title of the 2023 BAL season.