Why follow the Game-day 2 action of the Nile Conference?

One game down, five more to go for each Nile Conference team - that’s where we stand ahead of Saturday’s games at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo.

The second game day action begins with the two debutant teams that started their BAL season 4 campaigns on the losing foot when City Oilers take on Bangui Sporting Club at 16:00 (local time).

The goal, both teams insist, is to bounce back and try to minimize the damages caused by Friday’s blowout losses.

Bangui lost by 22 points (93-71) against Al Ahly Ly while the Oilers fell 23 points (99-76) behind hosts Al Ahly SC.

It’s a matter of staying focused, Bangui Sporting Club head coach, Francois Enyengue stressed. “It’s a long tournament, but I am sure we are going to get better with time,” the Cameroonian refuted.

It will the first-ever BAL match-up between Oilers and Bangui Sporting Club, who both made it to the league after successful Road to BAL qualifiers campaigns.

As it stands, Bangui ranks third in the Nile Conference ahead of City Oilers with a slightly better point-differential.

Although it’s still early in the conference, Saturday’s clashes could have serious implications in the race for a place in the BAL Playoffs in May in Kigali.

One of the highly-anticipated games of the conference comes later in the day when reigning BAL champions Al Ahly SC take on star-studded Al Ahly Ly.

The winner of the clash between these two North African sides will make a gigantic step towards Kigali.

In Friday’s games, both teams shot impressively well from long range and out-classed their opponents on all aspects of the game.

“We have to think on a long run in this competition. We are still improving,” said Agusti Bosch, the only coach with two BAL titles under his belt.

It’s the first BAL clash between both teams.

Al Ahly Ly head coach Ivan Jermic praised his team’s effort in the opening win, noting that “The first game is always the most important one of any competition.”

The Serbian continued: “We came here to advance to the next round and we’re going to do our best to get our job done. My teams always fight until the end. We can lose game, but none can beat us without a fight.”

Reflecting on Al Ahly Ly’s slow start against Bangui where the Libyan champions trailed by 9 (16-7) early in the game, Jermic insisted that being able to close out games is more important than anything else. “Ninety per cent of the times, teams that have big leads in the first quarter end up losing the game. This is what stats show,” he said.

If you are looking for a reason to watch e on Saturday’s Nile Conference games, here’s why:

So far, entertainment has been off the charts with local artists and performers sending fans into a frenzy at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex.

No players scored more than 21 points in the first two games of the conference, but a few came up with impressive displays.

Al Ahly Ly’s Majok Deng was 8-for-12 from the floor to finish with 20 points; Souleyman Diabate had a 7-for-8 shooting to contribute 17 points off the bench; City Oilers’ Khaman Maluach was two rebounds shy off his first BAL double-double, finishing with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 block shots and Al Ahly SC made it rain, after making 15 of the 38 3pt attempts to see off City Oilers.

All Nile Conference actions is fully covered on the bal.nba.com and the league’s social medial platforms.