Kriol Star secure hard-fought win in the opener of the 2025 BAL Playoffs

Kriol Star opened its 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Playoffs campaign the same way it closed their regular season: With a hard-fought win.

The Cape Verdean champions were trailing by as many as 10 points in the third quarter. However, when Jalan McCloud hit a fast-break three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter, giving them a 75-72 lead, FUS Rabat had no way to catch up.

Although there was some uncertainty later in the quarter, the BAL debutant Kriol Star emerged victorious, 91-88.

McCloud, who had only recently joined the team for the playoffs, contributed immensely, finishing with 21 points.

When FUS Rabat saw a glimmer of hope after narrowing the gap to 89-88 with 16 seconds remaining, Ivan Almeida made a long pass that found McCloud wide open. McCloud finished with an easy layup, sealing the final score.

Reflecting on his game-changing three-pointer, McCloud said, “It was a great read!”

"They tried to trap my other guard. I saw that nobody stepped up. I had already taken two or three three-point shots, so I thought, 'Why not?' It was an early shot, but fortunately, it worked out for me."

Joel Ntambwe led the Creoles with 22 points, Ivan Almeida added 18, and Joel Almeida scored 11 in the first half.

Kriol Star trailed for all but seven minutes.

"It was all about adjustments. We did a pretty good job of staying together. We figured out the different switches, matchups, and assignments that worked in our favor,” said McCloud when asked about Kriol Star’s ability to fight back when it mattered most.

Yacine Baeri sat out the entire opening quarter but turned out to be FUS Rabat’s most productive player. He finished with 22 points, shooting 7 for 8 from deep.

He later admitted that they could have done things differently, but remains upbeat about their next game.

"Let's be honest. We’ve shown some good things as a team. We kept fighting, but they beat us in fast-break points,” Baeri said.

“Nothing is done yet. We still have a chance on Sunday, and we’ll give it our all in our next game.”

We can’t only play for three quarters. We have to play for forty minutes. We have to play more aggressively on defense and get back quicker than we did against Kriol Star,” Baeri said.

“It’s just a seeding game,” McCloud insisted.

"One game at a time. Basketball isn’t a perfect game. We are going to make mistakes. Hopefully, we can adjust and continue winning,” he said.

In the quarterfinals, Kriol Star will face the losing team from the Al Ittihad Alexandria vs. Al Ahli Tripoli game, and FUS Rabat will play the winner.

Kriol Star is one of the two teams – alongside Al Ahli Tripoli – who reached the 2025 playoffs, having been qualified for this BAL season through the Road to BAL qualifier.