Kalahari Conference teams at a glance

Four teams, 12 games, countless scenarios to enter the race to the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season 4 Playoffs, and a constellation of household names in African basketball, this is where the Kalahari Conference stands before it tips off Saturday, March 9th.

A round of interviews with members of each of the four teams has shed light on why the SunBet Arena in Pretoria is the place to be for the start of the fourth BAL season.

One thing is certain, there will be a dogfight for the right to finish in the top two places of the conference.

Want to find out more about the Kalahari Conference teams? Find your answers below:

DYNAMO BASKETBALL CLUB

The Burundian champions self-describe underdogs, but their potential of causing some upsets along the way is real.

The arrival of South Sudanese guard Dhieu Abok Deng, followed by the addition of small forward Makthar Gueye and the return of Guibert Nijimbere and Israel Otobo give the BAL first-timers a huge lift.

For a team that was on the brink of elimination in the FIBA-run qualifying round last November to compete against seasoned Petro de Luanda, Cape Town Tigers and FUS Rabat it is a “moment of pride,” in the words of head coach Julien Chaignot.

Interestingly enough Frenchman Chaignot was on the losing side of Dynamo’s qualification to the BAL.

Back in November, Dynamo fought an 11-point deficit to upset Chaignot’s COSPN 79-78 in the East Division’s Elite 16 Third-Place game.

The win sent Dynamo to the BAL while COSPN were eliminated.

“I cried a lot when we lost to Dynamo,” Chaignot recalled. “But when they invited me to coach them, I was really pleased for the offer.”

The 45-year-old tactician, who took over from his current assistant Olivier Ndayiragije six weeks ago, went on saying: “We are trying to build on the team’s cohesion and try to play together. We hope my players enjoy playing together because we are the underdogs in this conference. We have no pressure.

“These are very experienced teams, especially Petro, a well-coached team… Rabat plays good basketball.. As for Cape Town, we know it’s going to be difficult but I think we can surprise them,” Chaignot said.

CAPE TOWN TIGERS

One thing that can’t be overlooked about the Kalahari Conference hosts is that they are ready to fight tooth and nail to protect their homecourt and boost their chances of extending their BAL season beyond March 17th.

Billy Preston Jr has returned to Cape Town for his second BAL stint in a move that has added size, energy and leadership to the South African champions.

Joining the 6’9 forward, who can do it all on both ends of the floor, is another energic player: Samkelo Cele, who has left his mark in the league after being named to the 2023 All-BAL Defensive team.
According to Cele, reaching the BAL quarterfinals for the third time, is Cape Town Tigers’ utmost priority.

“We are super grateful that we can host one of the windows for the BAL Season 4. There’s not necessarily pressure on us, but it’s just the privilege of playing at home in front of our fans,” said an elated Cele.

The Tigers qualified to the BAL for the third season in a row thanks to a flawless 5-0 mark in the qualifying round.

Now, Cele says: “If we are not one of the best teams in this conference, we are a top-2, for sure. We can play together, we can play hard. We feel very confident to pull if off.”

Asked to describe Florsheim Ngwenya’s charges, Cele called it “Hungry.”

“This group of players knows what is at stake at home. We are a bunch of hungry guys that is trying to prove a point here at home. Our goal is to advance to the semis and final.”

PETRO DE LUANDA

The Angolan champions are one of the two teams – along with US Monastir – to have never missed a BAL season, and they aim to make Season 4 a special one.

The team comprises players with Angola national team experience; six of their thirteen players have featured in the BAL trice; head coach Jose Neto is in his fourth straight BAL season, making him the longest serving head coach in the league with 22 games before the start of Season 4.

The two-time African champions have vowed to compete for their first BAL title, and built a team with championship title aspirations.

38-year-old Carlos, Markeith Cummings, Gerson Lukeny Goncalves and Edmir Lucas are the only players to have lifted the FIBA Africa Champions Cup.

Morais helped Petro to the 2006 FIBA Africa Champions Cup in Lagos, Nigeria, Cummings played a major role in helping Egypt’s Al Ahly SC to the African crown in 2016; Goncalves was part of Petro de Luanda’s roster that won the 2015 continental title and Lucas tasted the FIBA Africa Champions Cup title with Primeiro de Agosto in 2013.

“There’s nobody on the team thinking I came here to score the ball,” Cummings, who joined Petro on March 1st, said.

“I have been telling them since day one, and making sure they know I am here to play team ball, that’s how we are going to win,” the 6’6 forward added.

The 35-year-old forward continued: “I am very aware that my teammates have been trying since [BAL] Season 1 to win the title. There will be pressure because these games count, but I don’t think it’s so much because since Day 1 my teammates came to me with open arms and took me as one of theirs. We have to do everything as a team and I enjoy the team’s spirit.”

Petro de Luanda have reached the BAL semi-finals three times in a row.

FUS RABAT

A quick look into the Moroccan champions’ roster tells a story of a group of winners.

By leading AS Sale to the 2017 FIBA Africa Champions Cup title, Said El Bouzidi is the only head coach in the Kalahari Conference to have won an African title.

Joining El Bouzidi on the list of 2017 FIBA Africa Champions Cup winners are former MVP Abdelhakim Zouita, Abderrahim Najah and Yacine Baeri.

A massive addition to FUS Rabat is the 2023 BAL Defensive Player of the Year Aliou Diarra who will make his second straight appearance in the league.

Diarra inspired Stade Malien to an 84-76 win over Petro de Luanda in the BAL Season 3’s Third-Place Game.

Jonathan Jordan, who led FUS Rabat with team-highs 20 points and 5 assists per game during the qualifying round last October, says: “We feel like we are a pretty good team; we have been playing good ball in the Moroccan domestic league. We just want to come here and show the entire continent of Africa about Moroccan basketball and how powerful we are as well.”

Jordan called this FUS Rabat group of players “Resilient,” because, “We fought a lot of adversity this season as well as in the qualifying stages [Road to BAL]; We were down in a couple of instances and we just kept pushing forward and persevere the adversity.

“It's going to be dogfight every night as everyone is trying to win and advance. One thing about African basketball is that it’s very tough and teams play very hard. Guys are going to come at you and play until the final whistle. That’s African basketball.”

The 2024 Kalahari Conference runs from March 9 to 17th at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.