Game-changing shots that shaped the BAL

Since the league’s inaugural season in May 2021, there have been 192 BAL games, and over the last five seasons we have witnessed some incredible shots.

The day before Season 6 begins, we recall some of the BAL’s greatest shots of all time, in no particular order.
 
Ganapamo sank FAP 

On 12 April 2022, at the Hassan Mostafa Sports Complex in Cairo, Cape Town were trailing FAP by six points with just 40 seconds left on the clock, until Ben Myburgh came on from the bench to spark the Tigers’ comeback. 

He scored a three-pointer to make it 70–70. Then, with just two seconds left, Evans Ganapamo scored the game-winning three-pointer, boosting Cape Town’s chances of reaching the postseason.    
 
Noel’s buzzer-beater sent game to OT 

On the opening day of the Sahara Conference on 4 May 2024, Obadiah Noel made his mark.

With just four seconds left on the clock and APR behind by three points, Noel received an inbound pass from the baseline, dribbled a third of the way across the court and fired in the three-pointer that levelled the score at 78-78. The Rwandan champions went on to defeat US Monastir 89-84.
 
Fofana beat the Hoopers at the buzzer 

On 9 May 2024, AS Douanes refused to play an extra five minutes against Rivers Hoopers, resulting in a game-changing moment right at the buzzer.

With less than five seconds left, Hoopers' guard Will Perry tied from the free-throw line to make it 54–54.

AS Douanes' head coach, Mamadou Gueye, called a timeout to devise a strategy that would result in a memorable moment in basketball.

He brought Mike Fofana, who had been on the bench for over five minutes, onto the court to execute the final play. The Ivorian forward delivered the biggest shot of his career, as he later admitted.

Fofana set a screen, received the inbound pass and triggered the game-winning shot at the buzzer, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

SLAC trapped Cleveland Jr., leaving Nshobouzoua wide open to take the game-winning shot

On 9 March 2022, Rwanda’s REG were on the brink of defeat, trailing 81–80 against Guinea’s SLAC with just four seconds left on the clock.

However, REG guard Jean Jacques Wilson Nshobouzoua was not prepared to give up without a fight.

SLAC's defence trapped Cleveland Thomas Jr. so effectively that he was forced to pass to Nshobouzoua, who seized the opportunity to score the game-winning three-pointer. He later called this the biggest shot of his career. 

Bile’s 3-pointer saved the day for the ABC Fighters

On 20 March 2023, the ABC Fighters found themselves in unfamiliar territory. However, Chudier Bile was in the right place at the right time, leading the Ivorian team to a 79–76 victory over Nigeria’s Kwara Falcons.

With head coach Liz Mills absent due to health issues, assistant coach Eric Minotte took charge, inspiring his team to a 10–0 run in the final 1:37. This included Bile’s decisive three-pointer.
 
Goncalves’s putback upset eventual champions Al Ahly 

On 5 May 2023, eventual season champions Al Ahly SC were hosting the Nile Conference when Petro de Luanda stunned the home crowd with a last-second put-back from Gerson Gonçalves. 

Petro won 91–90 in a game that saw twelve lead changes.
 
Gasana sends Patriots to the semis 

The basketball gods were on Rwanda’s Patriots BC's side on 29 May 2021.

With just 2.7 seconds left on the clock, Patriots shooting guard Kenneth Gasana had the chance to win the game against Ferroviario de Maputo by making a free throw. However, he missed the first of two attempts.

The BK Arena erupted in joy when he scored the second, before Maputo’s Celio Dinis missed a three-pointer with just a second left. The 73–71 victory saw the Patriots advance to the semi-finals. This historic game took place on 27 May 2021. 

Eke’s putback hurt the short-handed APR

The second Sahara Conference clash between the Rivers Hoopers and the APR, which took place on 11 May 2024, went down in the league's history books as the first to be decided in double overtime.

As if the absence of Obadiah Noel and Adonis Filer through injury wasn’t concerning enough, APR allowed Devine Eke of the Hoopers to score a put-back shot that took the game into overtime. Ultimately, the Nigerian champions emerged victorious, defeating APR 78–71.

Lahyani punished Petro de Luanda at the buzzer

On 25 May 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda, Petro de Luanda went into the final five minutes of the game with an eight-point lead (65–57). However, Monastir's 10–0 run changed the course of the game.

Overtime seemed inevitable until Firas Lahyani scored a three-pointer at the buzzer. 

Lahyani scored 12 of his game-high 19 points from behind the arc. He also came close to achieving a double-double.

Cele’s heroics rank high in South African basketball history  

It was a shock to many, but the Cape Town Tigers pulled off the biggest upset of the 2024 BAL season by beating FUS Rabat 91-88 in overtime on 17 March 2024 at the BK Arena in Kigali, thanks to Samkelo Cele's heroics. 

The Moroccan champions were leading by three with two seconds remaining, but then Cele beat the buzzer to take the game into overtime. 

The eighth-seeded Tigers were underdogs in the quarter-final match-up, but knocking out the No. 1 seed in an electrifying encounter that sent fans into a frenzy is the biggest moment in South African basketball history.

This victory saw the Tigers reach the BAL Semifinals for the first time after three attempts.

Cele finished with a game-high 30 points, Cartier Diarra contributed 15, and Ngor Manyang added 13 off the bench. 

Opong's last-gasp three-pointer sank the Thunder

On 20 May 2025, Robinson Opong scored his first three-pointer in the first half and secured the 75-74 win for MBB against the Nairobi City Thunder with a shot in the last three seconds of the game. 

This was MBB’s first ever win in the BAL. They finished the season with a record of 2–4.

Noel hit the game-winning shot that secured APR's first BAL playoff

It's not how you start, but how you finish that matters. This popular saying proved to be the most accurate description of the final 2025 Nile Conference game between hosts APR and Nairobi City Thunder.

On 25 May 2025, the Nairobi City Thunder led for all but 5:11 minutes. However, when Obadiah Noel hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer with just three seconds remaining, there was nothing the Thunder could do, and APR narrowly escaped with a 77–74 victory.

With this win, APR finished second in the Nile Conference, securing the final automatic playoff berth.

The day Uvwo saved Kriol Star’s season

NBA Academy Africa player Lewis Uvwo will surely never forget the day he made history for Cape Verde side Kriol Star.

On 4 May 2025 in Dakar, Kriol Star desperately needed a miracle to save their campaign, and that was when the 17-year-old stepped up and scored the game-winning putback, securing his team a playoff spot.

Playing for 40 minutes, the Nigerian teenager shot 5-for-10, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two big block shots.