April 14, 2026

Things to know about Senegal’s back-to-back champions, ASC Ville de Dakar

Winning back-to-back titles in Senegal's top-tier Nationale 1 Masculin competition has made ASC Ville de Dakar the team of the moment in the West African country.

Winning their first league title in 2024 was remarkable enough, but repeating their success in 2025 has propelled ASC Ville de Dakar to the top of Senegalese basketball.

Based on the outskirts of Dakar, the club has a women’s team that has also dominated the domestic game in recent years and represented Senegal across the continent.

*Thierno Niang #5 of ASC Ville de Dakar celebrates during the game against Petro de Luanda during the Sahara Conference Group on April 29, 2025, at Dakar Arena in Diamniadia, Senegal.*

A glance at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) history books reveals that ASC Ville de Dakar is the third Senegalese club to represent the country in the BAL, following AS Douanes and Dakar Université Club (DUC).

After a promising start to the 2025 Sahara Conference, in which they beat US Monastir (70–67) and the reigning champions, Petro de Luanda (65–64), ASC Ville de Dakar’s BAL debut ended in disappointment as they missed out on a playoff place, finishing 2–4 in the Sahara Conference in front of their home fans in Dakar.

*Samba Fall #2 of ASC Ville de Dakar looks on during the game against U.S. Monastir during the Sahara Conference Group on May 4, 2025, at Dakar Arena in Diamniadia, Senegal.*

However, ASC Ville de Dakar are returning to the BAL with renewed ambition for the second consecutive season.

Only time will tell if they have what it takes to become the second Senegalese team to finish on the podium since AS Douanes' second-place finish in 2023.

Players:

*Ater Majok #13 of ASC Ville de Dakar looks on during the game against U.S. Monastir during the Sahara Conference Group on May 4, 2025, at Dakar Arena in Diamniadia, Senegal.*

One thing ASC Ville de Dakar aren’t short of is experienced players in their current roster.

The team includes players such as two-time BAL champion Solo Diabate; Ater Majok, who helped US Monastir to the 2022 BAL title; Axel Toupane, who won a bronze medal with France at the 2019 World Cup and was a member of the 2021 NBA championship team; Senegalese international Samba Fall; and South Sudan international Deng Deng.

Head Coach:

Moustapha Gaye, who served as one of ASC Ville de Dakar's assistant coaches in 2025, has stepped in as the head coach.

A two-time Women’s AfroBasket champion with Senegal, Coach Gaye has been involved in African basketball for over two decades.

At the international level, he coached Senegal at the 2016 Women’s Olympic Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, but before that Gaye was at the helm of Senegal at the 2006 World Cup and then led own country at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.