2021 BAL season

The 2021 BAL season was the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Established as a joint effort between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA, it is the highest tier continental league of Africa, replacing the FIBA Africa Basketball League.[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BAL announced that it was postponing its inaugural season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The BAL started its league more than one year later, on 16 May 2021.[3] The tournament was rescheduled from 2020 to 2021 and instead of playing at six different venues and countries the season was played completely in Kigali, Rwanda. The season began on 16 May 2021 and ended on 30 May 2021.[4]

2021 BAL season
The Kigali Arena in Kigali hosted the entire competition
Season2021
Teams12
Games played26
Dates16 – 30 May 2021
Final positions
Champions Zamalek
1st title
Runners-up US Monastir
Third place Petro de Luanda
Fourth place Patriots
Awards
MVP Walter Hodge
Statistical leaders
Points Terrell Stoglin 30.8
Rebounds Ibrahima Thomas 12.0
Assists Myck Kabongo 6.8
Records
Biggest home win47 points
GNBC 66–113 US Monastir
(12 May 2021)
Winning streak6 games
Zamalek
Highest attendance1,789
US Monastir 63–76 Zamalek
(30 May 2021)
2022 →

The qualifying rounds for the season were held from 16 October to 21 December 2019, with national champion of each African country has the opportunity to qualify through the qualifying rounds. Meanwhile, six national champions directly qualified for the regular season to make up a total of 12 teams divided over four groups.

Zamalek won the first-ever BAL championship after beating US Monastir in the Finals.

Overview

On 1 August 2019, the seven host cities for the BAL season were announced.[5] Additionally, it was revealed that the inaugural BAL Final Four will be played in the Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

BAL president, Amadou Gallo Fall, announced at the NBA All-Star 2020 Africa Luncheon in Chicago, that the season will tip off on 13 March 2020.[6]

On 20 February 2020, it was announced that the twelve teams were drawn in two conferences named Sahara and Nile Conference.[7]

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

On 3 March 2020, the BAL announced it was postponing its inaugural season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] The decision was made following recommendations of the Senegalese government.

In November, the start of the inaugural season was delayed once again and the new season was moved to a later to be announced date in 2021.[9] In March it was announced the league would commence in May 2021. The complete event will be held in the Kigali Arena and the regular season has changed to a group format with three groups of four.[4] All twelve teams were hosted in a bubble in which all players are regularly tested for COVID-19. All games are broadcast live by ESPN Africa.[10]

Qualification

The twelve teams for the inaugural BAL season had to qualify in their domestic competitions to be able to play in the league, similar to the other FIBA-organised competitions. Six teams qualified directly as their national champions while an additional six teams qualified through regional qualifying tournaments.

Direct qualification

FIBA announced that the national champions of six member associations would be directly qualified for the regular season. These teams are from countries which are also hosts cities for the regular season, except for Final Four host Rwanda.[5] On 23 October 2019, AS Douanes won the Senegalese national championship to qualify.[11]

Directly qualified teams
No. Country Team Notes
1  Angola Petro de Luanda Directly Qualified
2  Egypt Zamalek
3  Morocco AS Salé
No. Country Team Notes
4  Nigeria Rivers Hoopers Directly Qualified
5  Senegal AS Douanes
6  Tunisia US Monastir

Qualifying tournaments
Main article: 2020 BAL Qualifying Tournaments

Each of the FIBA Africa member associations was able to register one team from its country to participate in the qualifying tournaments. A total of 31 teams played in the first round, which was divided into six groups in six different host cities.[12] The qualification tournaments started on 16 October and will end 21 December 2019.

Teams and countries playing in the 2020 BAL Qualifying Tournaments
No. Country Team Notes
1  Algeria GS Pétroliers Qualified
2  Benin ASPAC
3  Botswana Dolphins
4  Burundi Dynamo
5  Cameroon FAP
Qualified
6  CAF Abeilles
Withdrew
7  Comoros Usoni
8  DR Congo ASB Mazembe
9  Ethiopia Hawassa City
10  Gabon Manga
11  Ghana Braves of Customs
12  Guinea SLAC
13  Ivory Coast ABC
14  Kenya KPA
15  Liberia NPA Pythons
16  Libya Al-Nasr Benghazi
No. Country Team Notes
17  Madagascar GNBC
Qualified
18  Malawi Brave Hearts
Withdrew
19  Mali AS Police
Qualified
20  Mozambique Ferroviário de Maputo
Qualified
21  Namibia Lions Club
22  Niger AS Nigelec
23  Rwanda Patriots
Qualified
24  Seychelles Beau Vallon Heat
25  South Africa Jozi Nuggets
26  South Sudan Cobra
27  Tanzania JKT
28  Uganda City Oilers
29  Zambia UNZA Pacers
30  Zimbabwe Mercenaries
31  Equatorial Guinea Virgen Maria de Africa

Teams

Qualified teams
Team Home city Qualified as Qualified on
US MonastirMonastir, TunisiaWinners of the 2018–19 Championnat National A1 May 2019
ZamalekCairo, EgyptWinners of the 2018–19 Egyptian Super League4 May 2019
Petro de LuandaLuanda, AngolaWinners of the 2018–19 Angolan Basketball League25 May 2019
AS SaléSalé, MoroccoWinners of the 2018–19 Division Excellence30 May 2019
AS DouanesDakar, SenegalWinners of the 2019 Nationale 1 season23 October 2019
Rivers HoopersPort Harcourt, NigeriaWinners of the 2019 NBBF President Cup17 November 2019[13]
GS PétroliersAlgiers, AlgeriaWest Division winners30 November 2019[14]
FAPYaoundé, CameroonWest Division runners-up30 November 2019[14]
AS PoliceBamako, MaliWest Division third place1 December 2019[15]
PatriotsKigali, RwandaEast Division winners21 December 2019
GNBCAntsirabe, MadagascarEast Division runners-up21 December 2019[16]
Ferroviário de MaputoMaputo, MozambiqueEast Division third place22 December 2019

Personnel and sponsorship
Team Head coach Team captain
AS Douanes Pabi Gueye[17] Alkaly Ndour
AS Salé Said El Bouzidi[18] Zakaria El Masbahi
AS Police Babacar Kanouté[17] Badra Samaké[19]
FAP Lazare Adingono[20] Ebaku Akumenzoh
Ferroviário de Maputo Milagre Macome[17] Custódio Muchate
GNBC Lova Navalona Raharidera[17] Francis Mory
GS Pétroliers Sofiane Boulahia[21] Mustapha Adrar
Patriots Alan Major[22] Aristide Mugabe
Petro de Luanda José Neto[23] Leonel Paulo
Rivers Hoopers Ogoh Odaudu[17] Belema Alamin
US Monastir Mounir Ben Slimen Radhouane Slimane
Zamalek Augustí Julbe[20] Haytham Elsaharty

Foreign players

Each BAL team was allowed to have four foreign players on its roster, including only two non-African players.

Team
Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4
AS Douanes Chris Cokley[24] Hassan Attia[24] Mohamed Sadi[24]
AS Salé Ra'Shad James[25] Terrell Stoglin[26] Johndre Jefferson[25]
AS Police Ibrahima Thomas[25] Jawachi Nzeakor[27] Mylo Mitchell[25]
FAP Abdoulaye Harouna[28] Marcus Thomas[28] Matthew Hezekiah
Ferroviário de Maputo Adjehi Baru[29] Álvaro Masa[29] Demarcus Holland[29] Myck Kabongo
GNBC Cameron Ridley[30]
GS Pétroliers
Patriots Jermaine Cole[31] Bush Wamukota[32] Brandon Costner[31]
Petro de Luanda Ryan Richards[33] Antwan Scott[25]
Rivers Hoopers Robinson Opong[34] Chris Daniels[35] Taren Sullivan[35]
US Monastir Ater Majok[20] Wael Arakji[20] Chris Crawford[25]
Zamalek Chinemelu Elonu[36] Michael Fakuade[37] Walter Hodge[20] Mouloukou Diabate[38]

Venues
Location of venues of the 2020 BAL season.
Red: Sahara Conference; Yellow: Nile Conference; Grey: Playoffs & Finals.

On 1 August 2019, the NBA announced the seven host cities for the regular season.[5] Six cities in six countries would host the regular season games, with three assigned to each conference. The Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda was announced as venue for the inaugural Final Four. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, it was later decided that the entire event was to played at the Kigali Arena.[4]

Initial venues of the inaugural BAL season
Arena Capacity Location
Dakar Arena
15,000
 Dakar, Senegal
Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex
16,500
 Cairo, Egypt
Salle El Bouâzzaoui
2,000
 Salé, Morocco
Kilamba Arena
12,270
 Luanda, Angola
Kigali Arena (Final Four)
10,000
 Kigali, Rwanda
National Stadium
3,000[39]
 Lagos, Nigeria
Mohamed-Mzali Sports Hall
4,075
 Monastir, Tunisia

Schedule
Phase Round Draw date Games
Qualifying First round 9 October 2019 15 October – 3 November 2019
Elite 16 21 November 2019 26 November – 22 December 2019
Regular season 29 March 2021 16–24 May 2021
Playoffs Quarter-finals 26–27 May 2021
Semi-finals 29 May 2021
Final and third place 30 May 2021

Qualifying tournaments
Main article: 2021 BAL qualification

In the qualifying rounds, 32 teams from 32 countries participated in the West and East Division. The first round began 15 October and ended 3 November 2019, with sixteen teams advancing to the second round. The second-round games began 26 November and will end 22 December 2019, with six teams qualifying for the regular season.

Rosters
Main article: 2021 BAL season rosters

Transactions
Main article: List of 2021 BAL season transactions

Group phase
Main article: 2021 BAL group phase

The group phase began on 16 May 2021 and ended on 24 May 2021. Initially, it was planned that in the regular season, the twelve teams would play in two Conferences with six teams each. Each team would play five games, one against each opponent, inside its conference. The top three teams from each conference would advance to the Super 6.[40] The regular season would be played in six arenas divided over the African continent.[40]

The format was changed to a group phase as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was completely played at the Kigali Arena. In three groups of four each team plays the other one time and the first, second and best third-placed teams advance to the playoffs.[4]

Group A
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification USM PAT RIV GNB
1 US Monastir 3 3 0 303 211 +92 6 Advance to playoffs — 91–75
2 Patriots (H) 3 2 1 236 223 +13 5 — 83–60 78–72
3 Rivers Hoopers 3 1 2 210 251 −41 4 70–99 —
4 GNBC 3 0 3 207 271 −64 3 66–113 69–80 —
Source: BAL
(H) Host

Group B
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification PDL ASS FAP POL
1 Petro de Luanda 3 3 0 247 208 +39 6 Advance to playoffs — 97–78 84–66
2 AS Salé 3 2 1 253 260 −7 5 — 87–84 88–79
3 FAP 3 1 2 235 218 +17 4 64–66 — 87–65
4 AS Police 3 0 3 210 259 −49 3 —
Source: BAL

Group C
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification ZAM FVM ASD GSP
1 Zamalek 3 3 0 254 181 +73 6 Advance to playoffs — 71–55 97–64
2 Ferroviário de Maputo 3 2 1 229 218 +11 5 — 88–74
3 AS Douanes 3 1 2 230 250 −20 4 62–86 — 94–76
4 GS Pétroliers 3 0 3 213 277 −64 3 73–86 —
Source: BAL

Ranking of third-placed teams
Pos Grp Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 B FAP 3 1 2 235 218 +17 4 Advance to playoffs
2 C AS Douanes 3 1 2 230 250 −20 4
3 A Rivers Hoopers 3 1 2 210 251 −41 4
Source: BAL

Playoffs
Main article: 2021 BAL Playoffs

All eight qualified teams from the group stage were ranked and seeded to determine the match-ups. The play-offs games were played in a single-elimination format.[4][41] The playoffs began on 26 May and ended on 30 May 2021 with the 2021 BAL Finals.[42]

Bracket
 
Quarterfinals
SemifinalsFinals
 
          
 
27 May
 
 
1
US Monastir		86
 
29 May
 
8
AS Douanes 		62
 
1
US Monastir		87
 
27 May
 
4
Patriots		46
 
4
Patriots		73
 
30 May
 
5
Ferroviário de Maputo		71
 
1
US Monastir		63
 
26 May
 
2
Zamalek 		76
 
2
Zamalek 		82
 
29 May
 
7
FAP 		53
 
2
Zamalek		89
 
26 May
 
3
Petro de Luanda		71 Third place game
 
3
Petro de Luanda		79
 
30 May
 
6
AS Salé		72
 
4
Patriots		68
 
 
3
Petro de Luanda		97
 

Final standings
Position Team Record
1 Zamalek 6–0
2 US Monastir 5–1
3 Petro de Luanda 5–1
4 Patriots 3–3
5 Ferroviário de Maputo 2–2
6 AS Salé 2–2
7 FAP 1–3
8 AS Douanes 1–3
9 Rivers Hoopers 1–2
10 AS Police 0–3
11 GS Pétroliers 0–3
12 GNBC 0–3

Awards

Statistics

The following were the statistical leaders in 2021 BAL season.[47]

Controversies

The BAL has faced criticism by The Guardian over its close ties with the Rwandan government in organising the league, using the league as a vehicle for sportswashing by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, pointing to ongoing repression and human rights abuses under his regime.[48]

On May 10, 2021, American rapper J. Cole signed a contract with the Rwanda-based Patriots.[49] In three games with the team, he scored five points, had three assists and five rebounds in 45 minutes of gameplay. Terrell Stoglin of AS Salé states about the signing: "For a guy who has so much money and has another career to just come here and average, like, one point a game and still get glorified is very disrespectful to the game. It's disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this."[50]

References
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