The 2023 Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs will begin on Saturday, May 20 at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda and conclude with the third BAL final on Saturday, May 27. The top eight teams from the league’s Sahara and Nile Conference groups will be crowned third BAL champions in a single-elimination tournament in Dakar, Senegal, and Cairo, Egypt, respectively.
In the quarterfinals, Stade Malian (Mali; 3-2) plays Cape Town Tigers (South Africa; 2-3) at 4 pm CAT / 10 am ET, followed by Al Ahly (Egypt; 4-1) against Rwanda Energy. Group (REG; 3-2) 7:30 pm CAT / 1:30 pm ET. The quarter-finals continue on Sunday, May 21, with AS Douanes (Senegal; 3-2) vs Clube Ferroviário da Beira (CFV – Beira; Mozambique; 2-3) at 4 pm CAT / 10 am ET, followed by Clube Atlético Petróleos de. Luanda (Pedro de Luanda; Angola; 5-0) hosts Abidjan Basketball Club (ABC Fighters; Cote d’Ivoire; 3-2) at 7:30 PM ET / 1:30 PM ET.
All eight playoff and finals games will be broadcast live on American Football Network (AFN), Canal+, ESPN (sub-Saharan Africa), NBA TV, Tencent, TV5 Monde, Visionary TV, Voice of America (VOA). Air channels across the continent through BAL’s broadcasting partnership with the African Union of Broadcasting. The games will also be broadcast live NBA appNBA.com, Visionview.tv And BAL.NBA.com. Fans can view the complete game schedule and purchase tickets BAL.NBA.com.
Below are some notable facts and figures about the 2023 BAL season:
- 40,000 – than 40,000 Fans participated in the Sahara and Nile Conference group stages.
- 23,000 – The Nile Conference game between Pedro de Luanda and Al Ahly was the most watched livestream ever on the BAL website. 23,000 Unique viewers, more than 80% of whom streamed the game on mobile devices.
- 1,000 – During the Sahara and Nile Conference, BAL was heavily involved 1,000 Youth through BAL4HER, BAL Advance, BAL U-23 Women’s Camps and Special Olympics Games and Clinics.
- 250 – than 250 Members of the media were credentialed to cover the Sahara and Nile conference group stages.
- 226 – AS Douanes recorded a group stage rise 226 Its five-game winning streak.
- 214 – 2023 BAL season reaches fans 214 Countries and territories TV and Voice of America in 17 languages through free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasting partnerships with African Union of Broadcasting, American Forces Network (AFN), Canal+, ESPN (sub-Saharan Africa), NBA TV, Tencent, TV5 Monde, Visionary (VOA), and live broadcasting NBA App, NBA.com, Visionview.tv And BAL.NBA.com.
- 156 – 12 BAL teams participated jointly 156 Players from 22 countries across Africa, Europe, Oceania and the Americas
- 100 – Pedro de Luanda recorded the highest point differential (100) any team in group stage play.
- 41 – CFV – Beira guard Will Perry ties BAL record for most points in a single game after recording 41 Defeated SLAC (Guinea) 109-97. In the same game, Perry also set the BAL record for most three-point field goals made in a game with nine.
- 34 – 12 BAL teams combined 34 Former NCAA Division I players, including 27 players on eight playoff teams.
- 33 – REG guard Cleveland Thomas Jr. pulled off a team-high 33 helps.
- 26 – 12 BAL teams participated 26 Players Basketball Without Borders (BWB), the global basketball development and community outreach program of the NBA and FIBA, which saw 12 former BWB African campers drafted into the NBA, including 2022-23 Kia NBA MVP Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers); BWB Africa 2011) and 2019 NBA Champion Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2012).
- 19 – Pedro de Luanda coached by head coach Jose Neto 19 BAL games, more than any other coach in league history.
- 17 – 12 BAL teams participated 17 Playoff team roster includes seven players with NBA G League experience.
- 15 – Last season, AS Douanes and NBA Academy Africa center Kamon Maluache made his BAL debut with Cobra Sports (South Sudan). 15He became the youngest player in league history
- 15 – 15 After years of playing 2023 Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame vs. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Pedro de Luanda shooting guard Carlos Morais faced Wade’s son Zaire as Pedro de Luanda defeated the Cape Town Tigers in the Nile Conference group stage.
- 12 – As part of the BAL Elevate program, an NBA Academy Africa prospect has once again joined each 12 BAL teams for the 2023 season. The NBA Academy Africa is an elite basketball training center in Saly, Senegal, the first of its kind on the continent for high school age prospects from across Africa.
- 6 – 2023 BAL Playoffs will feature Six Top 10 scorers in group stage play:
- Najeel Young (CFV – Beira; US) – 21.6 ppg
- Souleymane Berthe (Standard; MD) – 20.4 ppg
- Chris Crawford (AS Douanes; US) – 20 ppg
- Nuni Omote (Al Ahli; South Sudan) – 19.4 ppg
- Abdule Haruna (ABC Fighters; Niger) – 18.8 ppg
- Will Perry (CFV – Beira: US) – 18.4 ppg
- 6 – Pedro de Luanda shooting guard Carlos Morais wears jersey no Six, one of the most accomplished players in Angolan basketball history. He is an eight-time Angola League champion, three-time Angola Cup winner and represented Angola in three FIBA Basketball World Cups (2006, 2010, 2019) and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 2012 FIBA Africa Champions Cup. Morais played in three postseason games with the Raptors in 2013.
- 5 – Five BAL teams participated for the first time this season: ABC Fighters (Côte d’Ivoire), Al Ahly (Egypt), Citi Oilers (Uganda), Kwara Falcons (Nigeria) and State Malian (Mali), including the first BAL teams from Cote d’Ivoire and Uganda. Five Cape Town Tigers, REG, SLAC and CFV-Beira: Teams return for their second BAL season. AS Douanes returned to the BAL in 2021 after participating in the inaugural season.
- 4 – four African players are among the top performers in group stage play: Aliou Tiara (State Malian; Mali) averaged 18 points per game and team-high 13.4 rebounds per game. Carlos Morais (Pedro de Luanda; Angola) averaged a team-high 17.2 points per game. Al Ahly teammates Omar Orabi (Egypt) and Nuni Omod (South Sudan) average 19.4 points per game and 11.8 points per game, respectively.
- 2 – Featuring Cape Town Tigers Two Former NBA players: Josh Hall played 21 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2020-21 NBA season, and Michael Gbinije played nine games for the Detroit Pistons in the 2016-2017 season. Gbinije won the 2015 FIBA AfroBasket Championship as a member of the Nigeria Men’s National Team.
- 2 – 2022 BAL champion US Monastir (Tunisia) and 2022 runner-up Pedro de Luanda (Angola) Two Teams that have participated in all three BAL seasons.
- 1 – Pedro de Luanda Guard Solo Diabet (Ivory Coast), The only The two-time BAL finalist (with Egypt’s Zamalek in 2021 and US Monastir in 2022), is seeking a third straight BAL championship.