Kings join group of winless teams in BAL history

The JCA Kings of Côte d'Ivoire joined the list of teams in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) that have never tasted victory.

On Saturday in Rabat, Morocco, the Kings closed their 2026 Sahara Conference campaign with an 83-75 loss to ASC Ville de Dakar of Senegal.

They are the second team this season, after the Johannesburg Giants, to finish with a record of 0–5.

Since the league's inception in 2021, other teams that have never won a game include AS Police (Mali, 2021), GSP (Algeria, 2021), GNBC (Madagascar, 2021), Kwara Falcons (Nigeria, 2023), Stade Malien (Mali, 2025), the JCA Kings (Côte d'Ivoire, 2026), and the Johannesburg Giants (South Africa, 2026).

JCA Kings forward Babatunde William shared his thoughts on the tag that his team now carries.

William said: “It’s disappointing to go home without a win, because we are a group of young, talented players who aim to be the best. Losing all five games means we have to go back to the drawing board and work out what didn’t work for us. Our aim now is to go back home, make some changes, and then come back to the BAL and show our full potential.”

He continued, saying: “What went wrong? You can’t blame one person in particular; this group's mindset is to win and lose together. Everyone on this team is responsible for this result.”

The Ivorian side entered this season of the BAL after an impressive 7-1 record in the Road to BAL qualifiers, but William insisted they faced a different reality in Rabat.

“Some of the lessons I am taking away are that I need to be able to hold the ball, read the game, play smarter and stick to the game plan.”

Who will win the 2026 BAL season? William has no doubts: “Al Ahly Egypt has the most talented and solid team. They have good players in every position. Playing against them taught me a lot. I predict they will win the 2026 BAL season.”

At times, it seemed that the JCA Kings could pull out a win, especially when they took a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. 

“It's a basketball game. The game isn’t over until it’s over, and we always give our all, no matter the circumstances,” Ville de Dakar power forward Lamine Badji refuted. 

 BAL