The 2023 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 3, was the third season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The season began on 11 March 2023 and ended on 27 May 2023. The playoffs were played in the BK Arena in Kigali, which hosted the final stage for a third season in a row. The regular season was played in Dakar, Senegal and Cairo, Egypt, both venues hosted a conference for a second year in a row.
Al Ahly defeated AS Douanes in the final, which was played in the BK Arena in Kigali, for a first-ever BAL title. As the winners, Al Ahly automatically qualified for the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup Singapore.
US Monastir were the defending champions, having won their first title in the previous edition, but were eliminated in the Sahara Conference.
Qualification
The first round of the qualifying stage consists of 20 teams that play in four groups of five, each held in different cities. In the Elite 16, the teams are joined by 6 teams that qualified during the previous 2022 BAL qualification. Two groups of five teams are played to determine the six teams that advance to the main tournament.
On 21 September 2021, FIBA Africa announced the 26 teams in the qualifying tournaments as well as the six countries that would qualify directly.
East Division Group phase Group A(Niamey) Group B(Yaoundé)
Elite 16 Group A(Abidjan) Group B(Abidjan)
Final round
East Division Group phase Group A(Dar es Salaam) Group B(Antananarivo)
Elite 16 Group C(Johannesburg) Group D(Johannesburg)
Final round
Teams Petro de Luanda was the first team to qualify for the season when it won the Angolan League on 10 May 2022. The last qualified team was City Oilers who captured the third place in the Road to BAL East Division on 27 November 2022. The twelve teams of the 2023 BAL season were officially confirmed on 13 February 2023. After an absence of a Nigerian representative in the 2022 season due to FIBA's punishment of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Kwara Falcons was directly qualified as winners of the Nigerian Premier League.
Al Ahly, Kwara Falcons, ABC Fighters and Stade Malien made their league debuts. ABC Fighters was the first team from Ivory Coast to play in the BAL, while City Oilers was the first team from Uganda.
Two teams, defending champions US Monastir and runners-up Petro de Luanda, appear in their third consecutive season. TeamMethod of qualificationDate of qualificationFinals appearancePrevious appearanceConsecutive appearancesPrevious best performance Petro de LuandaAngolan Basketball League winners10 May 20223rd20223Runners-up (2022) US MonastirChampionnat National A winners16 May 20223rd20223Champions (2022) Al AhlyEgyptian Super League winners16 May 20221st–1– REGRBL winners19 September 20222nd20222Quarter-finals (2022) AS DouanesNationale 1 winners15 October 20222nd20211Quarter-finals (2021) Kwara FalconsNBBF Premier League winners12 November 20221st–1– ABC FightersRoad to BAL West Division winners17 November 20221st–1– SLACRoad to BAL West Division runners-up17 November 20222nd20222Quarter-finals (2022) Stade MalienRoad to BAL West Division third place18 November 20221st–1– Ferroviário da BeiraRoad to BAL East Division runners-up26 November 20222nd20222Group stage (2022) Cape Town TigersRoad to BAL East Division winners26 November 20222nd20222Quarter-finals (2022) City OilersRoad to BAL East Division third place27 November 20221st–1–
Personnel Augustí Julbe of Al Ahly was the only coach this season to already have won a BAL championship, as he won the 2021 title with Zamalek. TeamHead coachCaptainABC Fighters Liz Mills Stéphane KonatéAl Ahly Augustí Julbe Seif SamirAS Douanes Pabi Guèye Alkaly NdourCape Town Tigers Rasheed Hazzard Pieter PrinslooCity Oilers Mandy Juruni James OkelloFerroviário da Beira Luís Lopes Hernandez Will PerryKwara Falcons Baba Jubril Victor EzehPetro de Luanda José Neto Carlos MoraisREG Dean Murray Olivier ShyakaSLAC Željko Zečević Ibrahima Kalil FofanaStade Malien Kaba Kanté Makan KeitaUS Monastir Miodrag Perišić Radhouane Slimane
Foreign and Elevate players Each BAL team was allowed to have four foreign players on its roster, including only two non-African players. Players in italics were signed only for the playoffs. If players have multiple nationalities, the nationality of an African nation is shown.
Each team also featured one player from the NBA Academy Africa, under the BAL Elevate program. The players were drafted in an online meeting by the teams and the official list were announced on 28 February 2023. TeamPlayersElevate player1234ABC Fighters Omar Abada Tylor Ongwae Ousmane Dramé Abdoulaye Harouna Joy IghovodjaAl Ahly Nuni Omot Michael Fakuade Michael Thompson Corey WebsterHe returned to Egypt in April 2023 and joined Al Ahly. Ladji CamaraAS Douanes Matthew Bryan-Amaning Michael Ochereobia Terrell Stoglin Chris Crawford Khaman MaluachCape Town Tigers Evans Ganapamo Michael Gbinije Zaire Wade Marvin Smith Jr. Parby MusongelaCity Oilers Ngor Barnaba Falando Jones James Justice Jr. Obe EzekielFerroviário da Beira Makhtar Gueye Bourama Sidibe Will Perry Najeal Young Paul Kabenga MbiyaKwara Falcons Sita Conteh Kevin Nyemeck A. J. Wilson Ruot Monyyong Modou Fall ThiamPetro de Luanda Solo Diabate Damian Hollis Ater Majok Seifeldin HendawayREG Pitchou Kambuy Manga Beleck Bell Engelbert Cleveland Thomas Delwan Graham Ulrich ChomcheSLAC Michael Nwabuzor Uchenna Iroegbu Dane Miller Jr. Sedrick Barefield Mabilmawut MabilStade Malien Kelvin Amayo Gregory Foster Brian Bridgeford John Wilkins Rueben ChinyeluUS Monastir Ibrahima Thomas Jerome Randle Churchill Abass
Notes
Notable transactions
On 23 September 2022, Petro de Luanda signed two-time BAL champion Solo Diabate, who came over from US Monastir. On 10 January 2023, AS Douanes announced the signing of two-time BAL scoring champion Terrell Stoglin. They signed Chris Crawford, who played in the two previous BAL seasons, as well to complete their back court. On 21 January 2023, US Monastir signed Jerome Randle, a former NBL MVP winner in Australia. On 4 February 2023, the Cape Town Tigers signed Zaire Wade. Because Zaire is the son of Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, the signing gained attention in the United States. On 23 February 2023, ABC Fighters announced the signing of Abdoulaye Harouna, who lined up for his third BAL season. On 10 March 2023, Petro de Luanda signed Ater Majok, reigning BAL champion and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Majok came over from US Monastir. In May, ahead of the playoffs, the ABC Fighters signed Omar Abada, who was an All-BAL First Team selection in 2021.
Pre-season US Monastir, as champions of the 2022 BAL season, participated in the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup. It was the second time a BAL team participated in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. In the competition, played in February and hosted in La Laguna in Spain, Monastir finished fourth after two losses against CB Canarias and Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
ESPN declared Petro de Luanda, last year's runners-up, as the title favourites in their annual season preview.
Combine The league hosted their official second BAL Combine on 15 and 16 January 2023 at The One Ball Training Center in Paris. The combine featured 30 players and was directed by former NBA head coach Quin Snyder. Several players signed a contract with a BAL team after participating in the Combine. +Signed players from the 2023 BAL CombinePlayerTeamAdonis FilerREGChudier BileABC FightersMakhtar GueyeFerroviário da BeiraZaire WadeCape Town Tigers
Schedule The schedule for the 2023 season was officially released on 13 February 2023. PhaseRoundDraw dateGamesQualifyingFirst Round–12–30 October 2022Elite 163 November 202214–27 November 2022Group phaseSahara Conference–11–21 March 2023Nile Conference26 April – 6 May 2023PlayoffsQuarter-finals21–27 May 2023Semi-finalsFinal and third place
Regular season The regular season is played from 11 March to 6 May 2023. The twelve teams are divided into two conferences of six teams each. Teams in each group play each other one time, whereafter the top four teams advance to the playoffs.
Tiebreakers The ranking of teams in the regular season is determined as follows: Win-loss record; Head-to-head record; Point differential in the games between the respective teams; Number of points scored in the games between the respective teams; Average point differential in all games against other teams in the Conference; Average number of points scored in all games played against other teams in the Conference; Drawing.
Sahara Conference
The games of the Sahara Conference were played from 11 March to 21 March 2023 and were hosted in the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal for a second consecutive season. Stade Malien finished as Conference winner, due to their head-to-head point difference that determined the ranking of five teams with a 3–2 record. The defending BAL champions, US Monastir, missed the playoffs after they lost on the last game day.
Nile Conference
The games of the Nile Conference will be played from 26 April to 6 May 2023 and will be played in the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in 6th of October, Cairo, Egypt.
Petro de Luanda went undefeated and won the conference, after defeating four teams with a margin of at least 17 points. In the most notable match-up of the conference, Petro de Luanda defeated Al Ahly on a buzzer-beater by Gerson Gonçalves.
Playoffs
The playoffs were held from 21 May to 27 May 2023 in the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda for the third consecutive season.
Bracket
Individual awards
The winner of the Coach of the Year award was announced on 26 May. The Defensive Player of the Year, Sportsmanship Award and Most Valuable Player were announced on 27 May. The BAL's community service award, the Ubuntu Award, was decided by an online fan vote and the winner was announced on 30 January 2024.
Most Valuable Player: Nuni Omot, Al Ahly Defensive Player of the Year: Aliou Diarra, Stade Malien Coach of the Year: Pabi Gueye, AS Douanes Sportsmanship Award: Will Perry, Ferroviário da Beira Ubuntu Award: Tonny Drileba, City Oilers All-BAL First Team G Chris Crawford, AS Douanes G Jean Jacques Boissy, AS Douanes F Dane Miller Jr., SLAC F Nuni Omot, Al Ahly C Aliou Diarra, Stade Malien BAL All-Defensive Team G Childe Dundão, Petro de Luanda G Jean Jacques Boissy, AS Douanes F Samkelo Cele, Cape Town Tigers C Aliou Diarra, Stade Malien C Ater Majok, Petro de Luanda
Statistics Individual statistic leaders Category Player Team(s) Statistic Points per game Falando Jones City Oilers 21.6 Rebounds per game Aliou Diarra Stade Malien 12.8 Assists per game Cleveland Thomas REG 6.7 Steals per game Dane Miller Jr. SLAC 3.2 Blocks per game Aliou Diarra Stade Malien 2.3 Minutes per game Dane Miller Jr.SLAC 39.3FG% Dane Miller Jr. SLAC55.6% 3P% Ibrahima Thomas US Monastir 44.8% FT% Will Perry Ferroviário da Beira 96.7%
Individual game highs Category Player Team Statistic Points Will Perry Ferroviário da Beira 41 Rebounds Aliou Diarra Stade Malien 16 Assists Cleveland Thomas REG 10Dane Miller Jr.SLACWill PerryFerroviário da Beira Steals Ulrich Kra ABC Fighters 6 Blocks Aliou Diarra Stade Malien 5Ater MajokPetro de LuandaMouhamadou DiagneAS Douanes Three pointers Will Perry Ferroviário da Beira 9
References