The 2019 FIBA Africa Basketball League was the 33rd edition of FIBA Africa's premier club Basketball tournament and the 1st under the new format and new name. The season saw an expansion from twelve to sixteen teams.
The season began on February 8, 2019, and ended on May 26, 2019, with the conclusion of the Final Four. The Final Four was hosted at the Kilamba Arena in Luanda, Angola.
It was the last season of the league as the competition was replaced by the Basketball Africa League (BAL), a new competition jointly established by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA.
Competition format FIBA Africa has increased the number of participating teams from twelve to sixteen.Découvrez l’Afroleague, la nouvelle compétition de clubs de FIBA Afrique These teams get their ticket for the Africa Basketball League through regional qualifiers (Zone 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of FIBA Africa).
The qualifiers for the Africa Basketball League Group stage was held from September and until mid-December 2018, while the final phase will take place from January 11 to April 21, 2019, in various African cities.
The 16 teams qualified for the round of 16 will be divided into 4 groups of 4 teams each and the competition will take place in the form of a championship where each team will face respectively the 3 opponents of his group. Then, the first two clubs in each group will qualify for the Elite 8 where the clubs will be divided into four groups of two teams each and then games will be played in a home and away format.Zone 3 champions Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club will know their opponents for the 2019 FIBA AfroLeague later in December At this stage, the competition will be played in a one-way match against the principle of direct elimination. The Four winners will advance to the Final 4, that will be played on April 20 while the final take place the next day. Qualification tournament Zone Qualified teamsEliminated teamsZone 1 Zone 2 SLAC Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 Al Ahly, Smouha, REG Zone 6 Ferroviário da Beira, Primeiro de Agosto, Petro Luanda Zone 7 COSPN
Teams A total of 16 teams from 10 countries will contest the league. Venues and locations <onlyinclude>
Team Home city Arena Capacity AS Salé Salé Salle El Bouâzzaoui ES Radès Tunis Salle Taoufik-Bouhima JS Kairouan Kairouan Salle Aziz Miled SLAC Conakry Palais de Sport du Stade du 28 Septembre – Rivers Hoopers Port Harcourt Rivers State Basketball Complex Civil Defenders Abuja Abuja Sports Hall Elan Sportif Porto-Novo Hall des Arts Loisirs et Sports Boulevard Saint-Michel – BC Terreur Kinshasa Martyrs Sports Complex BC Mazembe Lubumbashi – Al Ahly Cairo Al Ahly Sports Hall Smouha Alexandria Ittihad Sports Arena Ferroviário da Beira Beira Estádio do Ferroviário Indoor Hall – Primeiro de Agosto Luanda Pavilhão Victorino Cunha Petro de Luanda Luanda Pavilhão da Cidadela COSPN Antananarivo Palais des Sports Mahamasina REG Kigali Amahoro Indoor Stadium 2,500
Schedule PhaseRoundDraw dateGamesGroup stageJanuary 12, 2019February 8 – March 10, 2019Elite 8First legMarch 22, 2019Second legApril 14, 2019Final FourSemi-finalsApril 27, 2019May 24 and May 26, 2019Final and third place
Group stage The draw was held in Abidjan on 12 January 2019.Draw Results FIBA Basketball
The two teams with the best records for each group qualified to Elite 8.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout phase Bracket
Elite 8 The Elite 8 games were played in a home and away basis from March 22, to April 14, 2019.Elite 8 pairings set following conclusion of Group Phase fiba.basketball. 11 Mar 2019. Retrieved 13 Mar 2019.
Final Four On 19 April 2019, the Kilamba Arena in Luanda, Angola was announced as host of the Final Four. The draw was held on 27 April 2019 in Abidjan.
Semifinals
Third place game
Final
Awards The individual awards were announced on May 26, after the conclusion of the final. Most Valuable Player: Eduardo Mingas (Primeiro de Agosto) All-Star Team: Eduardo Mingas (Primeiro de Agosto) Soufiane Kourdou (AS Salé) Manny Quezada (Primerio de Agosto) Abderrahim Najah (AS Salé) James Justice Jr. (Smouha)
Statistics Statistics as of the ending of the season.
Individual statistical leaders Category Player Team(s) Statistic Efficiency per game Maodo Nguirane JS Kairouan 21.7 Points per game Reggie Holmes Al Ahly 20.2 Rebounds per game Todd O'Brien 14.0 Assists per game Ahmed Dhif JS Kairouan 5.7 Steals per game Reggie Holmes Al Ahly 2.6 Blocks per game Mohamed Choua AS Salé 2.0 Turnovers per game James Justice Jr. Smouha 3.0 Minutes per game 34.1 FG% Augustine Okosun 59.0% 3P% Ahmed Azab Farag 60.0%Double-doublesMaodo NguiraneJS Kairouan4Todd O'BrienAl Ahly
Individual game highs Category Player Team(s) Statistic Efficiency Eduardo Mingas Primeiro de Agosto 35Abderrahim NajahAS Salé Points Manny Quezada Primeiro de Agosto 36 Rebounds Aubin Junior Kasongo BC Mazembe 23 Assists Yassine El Mahsini AS Salé 13 Steals Carlos Cabral Primeiro de Agosto 8 Blocks Nick West ES Radès 5TurnoversEngelbert BeleckREG82-point field goalsElhadji MbodjiES Radès12 3-point field goals Reggie Holmes Al Ahly 7
References
External links Official website FIBA Africa Official website