Who will take the lead on the opening day of the 2026 BAL Playoffs?

If you're a basketball fan looking to see the best players in action, look no further than the 2026 BAL Playoffs, which will take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from 22–31 May.

This decisive round of the BAL season brings together eight clubs from across the African continent, who will battle it out for the chance to be crowned champions.

The playoffs will follow a new system in which teams will play a two-game series, with the winners advancing to the semi-finals.

The first quarter-final set sees Al Ahy SC of Egypt take on Senegal’s ASC Ville de Dakar, followed by the home side RSSB Tigers against Morocco’s FUS Rabat.

This article provides a breakdown of the first two games of the 2026 BAL postseason.

Al Ahly EGY (2) vs Dakar (7)

This will be the second time that African giants Al Ahly SC have faced off against ASC Ville de Dakar, a team looking to turn their fortunes around on the grand stage of African basketball.

When the Red Devils of Egypt and the Senegalese champions faced off at the Sahara Conference in Rabat, Morocco last month, Al Ahly won their first game of the season 76-72 while Ville de Dakar dropped to 0-2.

Al Ahly SC are currently on a four-game winning streak, while Ville de Dakar aren’t much different, having won three games in a row to secure their place in the playoffs.

Although these two teams are familiar with each other and have some relatively evenly matched stats (points, rebounds and assists per game), significant changes have occurred on either side since their last meeting, making this game unpredictable.

Both teams have reshaped their squads with new signings, which, at the time of writing, had not yet been validated by FIBA. They will take to the BK Arena court looking to rewrite history.

Al Ahly lifted their BAL trophy in this venue three summers ago, and reaching the Championship remains their ultimate goal.

ASC Ville de Dakar have arrived in Kigali looking to better their domestic rivals AS Douanes' performance, a team that Al Ahly outclassed in the 2023 BAL Final. 

Samba Fall and Axel Toupane could be ASC Dakar’s primary scorers, but they hope that the contributions of their veteran duo, Solo Diabate and Ater Majok, will carry them to new heights.

Kevin Murphy, who was part of Al Ahly Ly's 2024 BAL runners-up, only played three of his team's five games in Rabat, but his scoring instinct could be key. Joining Murphy in the Red Devils' offence is Zack Lofton, who led the team in playing time, scoring, and assists. Lofton is emerging as Al Ahly SC's go-to guy.  

On paper, Al Ahly seems to be strong favourites to win this two-game series mainly due to its array of shooters who can score in critical situations. The question, however, is whether the 2023 BAL champions can contest ASC Ville de Dakar’s physicality, which appear to be their strongest asset. 

As the saying goes, the BAL Playoffs are a different ball game, where no team can be underestimated.

RSSB Tigers (3) vs. FUS Rabat (6)

The RSSB Tigers and the FUS Rabat have never played each other before and will be forming one of the most unpredictable series.

The high-scoring RSSB Tigers will be counting on their home court advantage and the contributions of Craig Randall, who made history in the BAL. As the fourth Rwandan team to play in the BAL, the Tigers have built a team capable of becoming the first to lift the trophy at home. 

Now in their third consecutive season, FUS Rabat will be aiming to reach the semi-finals for the first time. 

However, it could be misleading to judge the two teams based on their respective conference campaigns, as they faced starkly different types of opponents. Nevertheless, the two teams have some similarities in terms of their playing style. 

Both teams tend to play aggressively at the defensive end of the court, averaging around 29 defensive rebounds per game. However, FUS Rabat's season high of 5.4 blocked shots per game highlights their dominance in the paint. 

A thorough examination of the record books reveals that the RSSB Tigers and FUS Rabat have followed the example of other teams by adjusting their rosters for the playoffs.

The Moroccan champions have been dealt a major blow by the absence of lethal scorer Abdoulaye Harouna, who was ruled out with a hand injury during the Sahara Conference. They may also be without playmaker Anthony Pritchard, whose performance in front of their home fans last month had raised hopes within the team.

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