The Basketball Africa League (BAL) yesterday announced the 12 clubs from 12 African countries that will compete in the 2023 season.
Eight-time Uganda National Basketball League champion City Oilers, Abidjan Basket Club (Côte d’Ivoire), Al Ahly (Egypt), Kwara Falcons (Nigeria), and Stade Malien (Mali) are among the five teams that will participate in the BAL for the first time.
The season tips off on Saturday, March 11 and will run through the 21st at the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal While the Nile Conference’s group phase will take place at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from April 26 – May 6.
The top four teams from each conference will advance to the BAL Playoffs and Finals, which will take place from May 21 to May 27 in Kigali’s BK Arena and feature a single-elimination competition.
Eight-time Uganda National Basketball champions The Oilers have been placed in the Nile Conference alongside Al Ahly (Egypt), the Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), Beira-CFV (Mozambique), Petro De Luada (Angola), and SLAU (Guinea).
Abidjan BC (Cote d’Ivoire), Kwara Falcons (Nigeria), Stade Malien (Mali), AS Douanes (Senegal), REG (Rwanda), and US Monastir (Tunisia) are also participants in the Sahara Conference.
The Ugandan Champions, City Oilers, earned their slot for the Basketball African League after beating Urunani, 71-62, in the 3rd-place playoff of Division East of Group F at the Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg last year.
