Conference Opener Will Feature Egypt’s Al Ahly Making BAL (www.BAL.NBA.com) Debut Against Mozambique’s CFV – Beira at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex on Wednesday, April 26 at 12 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CAT; Tickets for Nile Conference Games on Sale Now at www.BAL.NBA.com
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced the rosters of the six teams (https://apo-opa.info/3Lr4YUq) that will compete in the league’s Nile Conference group phase from April 26 – May 6 at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo, Egypt.
The six teams – Al Ahly (Egypt), Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), City Oilers (Uganda), Club Atlético Petróleos de Luanda (Petro de Luanda; Angola), Clube Ferroviário da Beira (CFV – Beira; Mozambique) and Seydou Legacy Athlétique Club (S.L.A.C; Guinea) – collectively feature 78 players from 15 countries across Africa, Oceania, and the U.S., including two former NBA players, nine players with NBA G League experience, 20 former NCAA Division I players, six NBA Academy Africa prospects, and 15 former Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa campers. Al Ahly and the City Oilers will be making their BAL debut, while the Cape Town Tigers, CFV – Beira and S.L.A.C are returning for the second consecutive season. 2022 runner-up Petro de Luanda has participated in all three BAL seasons.
In the conference opener, Al Ahly will take on CFV – Beira at 12 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CAT on Canal+, ESPN, NBA TV, Visionary TV, Voice of America (VOA) and select free-to-air channels across the continent. The game will also livestream on the NBA App (https://apo-opa.info/3leQJYr), www.NBA.com and www.BAL.NBA.com. Fans can view the complete Nile Conference game schedule and purchase tickets at www.BAL.NBA.com.
The 12 BAL teams have once again been divided into two conferences – the Sahara Conference and the Nile Conference. Each conference plays a 15-game group phase during which each team plays the five other teams in its conference once. The top four teams from the Nile Conference group phase will join Abidjan Basket Club (ABC Fighters; Côte d’Ivoire), AS Douanes (Senegal), Rwanda Energy Group (REG; Rwanda) and Stade Malien (Mali) in the BAL Playoffs, which will feature a single-elimination tournament and Finals at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda in May.
Below please find select BAL Nile Conference player and coach storylines:
- Josh Hall (Cape Town Tigers) played 21 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2020-21 NBA season.
- Michael Gbinije (Cape Town Tigers) was the No. 49 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons and played in nine games for the Pistons during the 2016-2017 season. He won the 2015 FIBA AfroBasket Championship as a member of the Nigeria Men’s National Team.
- Ater Majok (Petro de Luanda) was the No. 58 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Majok, who won the 2022 BAL Finals and Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the Year Award as a member of US Monastir, is competing in his third BAL season.
- In addition to signing Majok, Petro de Luanda signed 2022 BAL champion Souleymane Diabate. Majok and Diabate join 2022 All-BAL First Team member Carlos Morais and 2022 All-BAL Defensive Team members Childe Dundão and Abou Gakou. A number of Petro de Luanda players previously represented their respective national teams in FIBA Basketball World Cup tournaments, including Diabate (Côte d’Ivoire; 2010 and 2019) and Dundão (Angola; 2017 FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup).
- Petro de Luanda shooting guard Carlos Morais is one of the most accomplished players in the history of Angolan basketball. He is an eight-time Angolan League champion, a three-time Angolan Cup winner, and represented Angola in three FIBA Basketball World Cups (2006, 2010, 2019) and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was also named Most Valuable Player of the 2012 FIBA Africa Champions Cup. Morais played in three preseason games with the Toronto Raptors in 2013.
- Former New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and NBA G League Ignite assistant coach Rasheed Hazzard will serve as head coach of the Cape Town Tigers. Hazzard was also an assistant coach for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers when they won the 2021-22 G League Championship. He will coach alongside South Africa’s Flosh Ngwenya, who led the team during the Road to the BAL qualifiers last November.
- Tigers guard Zaire Wade most recently played for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League. Zaire is the son of three-time NBA champion and 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Dwyane Wade.
- Al Ahly forward Anunwa “Nuni” Omot made history with the South Sudan National Team when the team qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time earlier this year. He was South Sudan’s leading scorer throughout their World Cup qualifying campaign.
- Six Al Ahly players were part of the Egypt National Team that qualified for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. In addition, Al Ahly guard Amr Gendy represented Egypt in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and guard Corey Webster represented his native New Zealand in two FIBA Basketball World Cups (2014 and 2019).
- NBA Academy Africa prospect Dramane Camara, who is playing for Al Ahly as part of the BAL Elevate program, recently committed to DePaul University and is set to join the Blue Demons ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Below are the nine former NBA G League players competing in the Nile Conference group phase
Team | Player | Country | Last G League Team |
Al Ahly | Anunwa Omot | South Sudan | Lakeland Magic |
CFV – Beira | Najeal Young | U.S. | Santa Cruz Warriors |
Cape Town Tigers | Josh Hall | U.S. | Grand Rapids Gold |
Cape Town Tigers | Michael Gbinije | U.S. / Nigeria | Oklahoma City Blue |
Cape Town Tigers | Zaire Wade | U.S. | Salt Lake City Stars |
Petro de Luanda | Ater Majok | South Sudan | South Bay Lakers |
S.L.A.C | Uchenna Iroegbu | U.S. / Nigeria | Stockton Kings |
S.L.A.C | Sedrick Barefield | U.S. | Oklahoma City Blue |
S.L.A.C | Dane Miller Jr. | U.S. | Oklahoma City Blue |
Below are the 20 former NCAA Division I players competing in the Nile Conference group phase:
Team | Player | Country | Last NCAA College/University |
Al Ahly | Anunwa Omot | South Sudan | Baylor University |
Al Ahly | Omar Araby | Egypt | University of Southern California |
Al Ahly | Michael Thompson | U.S. | Northwestern University |
City Oilers | James Edward Justice Jr. | U.S. | University of Tennessee |
City Oilers | Falando Cortez Jones | U.S. | Mississippi Valley State University |
City Oilers | Germaine Vashon Roebuck Jr. | U.S. | Judson University |
City Oilers | Ngor William Barnaba | South Sudan | Talladega College |
CFV – Beira | Makhtar Gueye | Senegal | University of Alabama, Birmingham |
CFV – Beira | William Perry | U.S. | Lenoir-Ryhne University |
CFV – Beira | Bourama Sidibe | Mali | Syracuse University |
CFV – Beira | Najeal Young | U.S. | University of Illinois |
Cape Town Tigers | Evans Ganapamo | Central African Republic | Prairie View A&M |
Cape Town Tigers | Samekelo Cele | South Africa | University of Science and Arts, Oklahoma |
Cape Town Tigers | Michael Gbinije | U.S. / Nigeria | Duke University and Syracuse University |
Cape Town Tigers | Pieter Prinsloo | South Africa | Marist College |
Cape Town Tigers | Dylan Whitbread | South Africa | Colgate University |
Petro de Luanda | Ater Majok | South Sudan | University of Connecticut |
Petro de Luanda | Damian Hollis | U.S. | George Washington University |
S.L.A.C | Sedric Barefield | U.S. | University of Utah |
S.L.A.C | Uchenna Iroegbu | U.S. / Nigeria | Stony Brook University |
Below are the six NBA Academy Africa prospects competing in the Nile Conference group phase:
Team | Player | Hometown/Country |
Al Ahly | Dramane Sayon Camara | Bamako, Mali |
Cape Town Tigers | Parby Kabamba Musongela | Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) |
City Oilers | Segun Ezekiel Obe | Ikeja, Nigeria |
CFV – Beira | Paul Kabenga Mbiya | Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) |
Petro de Luanda | Seifeldin Hendaway | Cairo, Egypt |
S.L.A.C | Mabilmawut Kon Mabil | Juba City, South Sudan |
Below are the 15 former BWB Africa campers competing in the Nile Conference group phase:
Team | Player | Country | BWB Camp(s) |
Al Ahly | Amro Sherif Mohamed Abdelhalim | Egypt | BWB Africa 2009 |
Al Ahly | Omar Oraby | Egypt | BWB Africa 2008 |
City Oilers | Baale Fayed | Uganda | BWB Africa 2017 |
City Oilers | Jimmy Enabu | Uganda | BWB Africa 2007 |
CFV – Beira | Luis Rafael de Barros | Mozambique | BWB Africa 2004 |
CFV – Beira | Makhtar Gueye | Senegal | BWB Global 2015 |
CFV – Beira | Paul Mbiya | DRC | BWB Africa 2022 / BWB Global 2023 |
Cape Town Tigers | Liam Reid | South Africa | BWB Africa 2014 |
Cape Town Tigers | Dylan Whitbread | South Africa | BWB Africa 2011 |
Cape Town Tigers | Lebesa Selepe | South Africa | BWB Africa 2008 |
Cape Town Tigers | Parby Musongela | DRC | BWB Africa 2022 / BWB Global 2023 |
Petro de Luanda | Gerson Domingos | Angola | BWB Africa 2013 |
Petro de Luanda | Glofate Buiamba | Angola | BWB Africa 2016 |
Petro de Luanda | Seifeldin Hendaway | Egypt | BWB Africa 2022 / BWB Global 2023 |
S.L.A.C | Mabilmawut Mabil | South Sudan | BWB Africa 2022 |
The 2023 BAL season is reaching fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages through free-to-air and paid TV broadcast partnerships with the African Union of Broadcasting, American Forces Network (AFN), Canal+, ESPN (sub-Saharan Africa), NBA TV, Tencent, TV5 Monde, Visionary TV and VOA, and livestreaming on the NBA App (https://apo-opa.info/3leQJYr), www.NBA.com and www.BAL.NBA.com.
*Rosters are subject to change
About the BAL:
The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa. Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Africa has organized across the continent and marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America. Fans can follow the BAL (@theBAL) on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube and register their interest in receiving more information at www.BAL.NBA.com.
Frederick Marfo is a sportswriter and social worker well known for his advocacy for equal chances and rights for all athletes, especially those with disabilities.
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