| Organising body | Basketball Africa League |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| First season | 2021 |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| International cup(s) | FIBA Intercontinental Cup |
| Current champions | Petro de Luanda (1st title) (2024) |
| Most championships | 4 teams (1 title each) |
| Website | thebal |
| 2022 BAL Finals | |
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is a seasonal basketball league established in 2019 and first held in 2021. The league is a joint venture by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA, and is open to national champions of FIBA Africa member countries. The finals of each season are played in a single-game format, which is held at an arena that is chosen by the BAL organisation. The winner automatically qualifies for that year's FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
The data below does not include the FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup, the predecessor of the BAL that was held between 1972 and 2019.
Zamalek won the inaugural final in 2021. Petro de Luanda are the current champions, having won the 2024 final. Four different teams have won the BAL championship so far. Egyptian teams have won the competition the most times with two wins.
Champions
The first parentheses in the champions and runners-up columns indicate the teams' playoff seed. The second parentheses indicate the number of times that teams have appeared in an BAL Finals as well as each respective team's BAL Finals record to date.
| Season | Year | Champions | Coach | Result | Runners-up | Coach | Arena | Attendance | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | Zamalek (2) (1, 1–0) | Augustí Julbe | 76–63 | US Monastir (1) (1, 0–1) | Mounir Ben Slimane | Kigali Arena, Kigali, Rwanda | 1,789 | |
| 2 | 2022 | US Monastir (2) (2, 1–1) | Miodrag Perišić | 83–72 | Petro de Luanda (2) (1, 0–1) | José Neto | BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda (2) | 10,000 | |
| 3 | 2023 | Al Ahly (2) (1, 1–0) | Augustí Julbe | 80–65 | AS Douanes (2) (1, 0–1) | Pabi Gueye | BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda (3) | 7,532 | |
| 4 | 2024 | Petro de Luanda (6) (2, 1–1) | Sergio Valdeolmillos | 107–94 | Al Ahly Ly (7) (1, 0–1) | Ivan Jeremić | BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda (4) | 6,404 | |
| Upcoming finals | |||||||||
| 5 | 2025 | SunBet Arena, Pretoria, South Africa | |||||||
Performances
Performance by club
| Club | Titles | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Monastir | 1 | 1 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Petro de Luanda | 1 | 1 | 2024 | 2022 |
| Al Ahly | 1 | 0 | 2023 | — |
| Zamalek | 1 | 0 | 2021 | — |
| AS Douanes | 0 | 1 | — | 2023 |
| Al Ahly Ly | 0 | 1 | — | 2024 |
Performance by country
Teams from three nations have been to a BAL final, and teams from two countries have won the competition thus far.
| Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Tunisia | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Angola | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Senegal | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Libya | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Performance by head coach
| Club | Titles | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augustí Julbe | 2 | 0 | 2021, 2023 | — |
| Miodrag Perišić | 1 | 0 | 2022 | — |
| Sergio Valdeolmillos | 1 | 0 | 2024 | — |
| Mounir Ben Slimane | 0 | 1 | — | 2021 |
| José Neto | 0 | 1 | — | 2022 |
| Pabi Guèye | 0 | 1 | — | 2023 |
| Ivan Jeremić | 0 | 1 | — | 2024 |
Finals hosted by arena
The finals are played in a pre-determined venue, from 2021 to 2023 this was the BK Arena (formerly the Kigali Arena) in Kigali as the BAL agreed with the Rwandan Ministry of Sports. Later, the BAL and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) agreed to host the finals of 2024, 2026 and 2028 as well.
| Arena | Location | Finals | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| BK Arena | Kigali, Rwanda | 6 | 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026, 2028 |
| SunBet Arena | Pretoria, South Africa | 1 | 2025 |
Top scorer
Clubs denoted in italics lost the finals in the given year.
| Year | Top scorer | Club | Points | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Michael Fakuade | Zamalek | 15 | |
| 2022 | Gerson Gonçalves | Petro de Luanda | 28 | |
| 2023 | Nuni Omot | Al Ahly | 22 | |
| 2024 | Nick Faust | Petro de Luanda | 24 | |
| Majok Deng | Al Ahly Ly |
Players with multiple BAL titles
| No. of championships | Player | Position | Seasons | Championship teams | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Winning Percentage | |||||
| 2 | Solo Diabate | G | 4 | 50% | Zamalek (2021) US Monastir (2022) |
|
| Michael Fakuade | F | 2 | 100% | Zamalek (2021) Al Ahly (2023) |
||
Notes
- ^ The attendance in the 2021 finals was limited due to government regulations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, as social distancing was enforced.
- ^ The BK Arena was known as Kigali Arena until 2021.
References
- ^ "Egypt's Zamalek wins inaugural Basketball Africa League". www.nba.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "US Monastir are the 2022 Basketball Africa League Champions". The BAL. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ "Kings in the North: Tunisia's US Monastir crowned BAL champions". ESPN.com. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ "BAL Announces Teams, Conferences & Game Schedule Ahead of 2023 Season Tipping off March 11th". BAL. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Al Ahly are the 2023 BAL champions". The BAL. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "Petro de Luanda are the 2024 BAL Champions". The BAL. 1 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
- ^ "Basketball Africa League and Rwanda Development Board extend to play games | Times Aerospace". www.timesaerospace.aero. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "LiveStats". geniussports.com. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b "FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE BAL SEASON 3". The BAL. Retrieved 6 June 2024.