April 21, 2023

The BAL Throne is vacant – How did it happen?

The 2023 BAL season resumes next week with the Nile Conference, but its throne became vacant following US Monastir’s elimination on the last day of the Sahara Conference.

It’s the first time that a BAL champion comes up short in the regular season.

The Tunisian champions arrived in Dakar as the number one seed in the Conference, but they came up short to the Playoff spots due to a negative point (-7) point differential.

On the other hand, BAL debutant Stade Malien entered the last day of the Conference in the fifth place, but a resounding 90-71 win over ABC turned the BAL standings upside down.

DAKAR, SENEGAL - MARCH 21: Namakan Traore #2 of Stade Malien smiles after the game against the ABC Fighters on March 21, 2023 at the Dakar Arena. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Armand Lenoir/NBAE via Getty Images)

Stade Malien ended up as the 2023 Sahara Conference champions, while US Monastir were eliminated.

What was behind US Monastir’s shortcoming?

Were US Monastir overconfident? Have they underestimated opponents? Was the management of the team to blame for its poor campaign?, or, were Monastir’s opponents simply superb and exceeded expectations?

DAKAR, SENEGAL - MARCH 15: Firas Lahyani #23 of US Monastir celebrates against the Kwara Falcons on March 15, 2023 at the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Nacer Talel/NBAE via Getty Images)

Part of the answers to Monastir’s elimination are found in the numbers shown below:

Comparatively to the previous two BAL seasons (in every five or six games), US Monastir:
Averaged 76.2 points per game (ppg) in 2023. (79 ppg in 2022; 89.8 ppg in 2021).
Conceded 77.6 points per game (ppg) (71 ppg in 2022; 65.8 ppg in 2021)
Averaged 39 rebounds per game (rpg) (43.4 rpg in 2022; 40.1 rpg in 2021).
Averaged 17.4 assists per game (asp) (25.2 apg in 2022; 24.1 apg in 2021).
Averaged 19.2 turnovers per game (TO) in 2023 (16.4 TO in 2022; 14.1 TO in 2021).

In three straight BAL appearances this was US Monastir’s less productive campaign.

A day after Monastir rallied to beat Nigeria’s Kwara Falcons (85-75), the bal.nba.com asked Gerome Randle to describe the type of team that US Monastir was:

“It’s a team that’s trying to figure it out, to be honest. We are trying to figure out who we are. That’s the main thing with this team. It’s a difficult position, but it’s a unique position. Because we are still trying to figure it out, it doesn’t mean that we can’t figure it out as we go. Experience and plan always puts you in a position to figure things out,” Randle, who joined the team in February, explained.

All appeared as if US Monastir were in a strong position to remain in contention and try to protect their BAL title.

But facing hosts AS Douanes - who desperately needed to win by 14 points or more - turned out more challenging than it looked before the game.

DAKAR, SENEGAL - MARCH 21: Jean Jacques Boissy #5 of AS Douanes shoots the ball during the game against the US Monastir on March 21, 2023 at the Dakar Arena. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Julien Bacot/NBAE via Getty Images)

And when Charles Watson – one of the G League referees assigned to the Sahara Conference – ejected Radhouane Slimane for a second technical foul later in the game, it was game over for the BAL champions.

And AS Douanes went on to celebrate the historic win (76-60), which in theory, looked improbable, but it reflected US Monastir’s difficult moment.

All in all, US Monastir knew that it wouldn’t be an easy ride: “It's going to be difficult because we are going to be the team to beat this season,” Slimane said right before the start of the season.

The main takeaway from the 2023 Sahara Conference is that none is safe.