2021 BAL season
2020 BAL season | |
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File:Kigali Arena.jpg | |
Season | 2020 |
Dates | Postponed |
Number of games | 37 |
Number of teams | 12 |
2021 → |
The 2020 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season is the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The league is a joint effort between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA.[1] Starting from this season, it is the highest tier continental league of Africa, replacing the FIBA AfroLeague.
In its first season, the league exists out of 12 teams and is scheduled to begin in March 2020. The qualifying rounds for the season were held in October and December 2019. The national champion of each African country has the opportunity to qualify through the qualifying rounds. Meanwhile, six national champions directly qualify for the regular season.
On 3 March 2020, the BAL announced it was postponing its inaugural season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The decision was made following recommendations of the Senegalese government. The BAL intends to start its league at a later date.
Overview
On 1 August 2019, the seven host cities for the BAL season were announced.[3] 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.[4]
On 20 February 2020, it was announced that the twelve teams were drawn in two conferences named Sahara and Nile Conference.[5]
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 six winners of the qualifying tournaments would .
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.[3] On 23 October 2019, AS Douanes won the Senegalese national championship to qualify.[6]
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.[7] The qualification tournaments started on 16 October and will end 21 December 2019.
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Teams
Qualified teams
Team | Home city | Qualified as | Qualified on |
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Monastir | Winners of the 2018–19 Championnat National A | 1 May 2019 |
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Giza | Winners of the 2018–19 Egyptian Super League | 4 May 2019 |
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Luanda | Winners of the 2018–19 Angolan Basketball League | 25 May 2019 |
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Salé | Winners of the 2018–19 Division Excellence | 30 May 2019 |
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Dakar | Winners of the 2019 Nationale 1 season | 23 October 2019 |
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Port Harcourt | Winners of the 2019 NBBF President Cup | 17 November 2019[8] |
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Algiers | West Division winners | 30 November 2019[9] |
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Yaoundé | West Division runners-up | 30 November 2019[9] |
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Bamako | West Division third place | 1 December 2019[10] |
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Kigali | East Division winners | 21 December 2019 |
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Vakinankaratra | East Division runners-up | 21 December 2019[11] |
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Maputo | East Division third place | 22 December 2019 |
Personnel and sponsorship
Team | Head coach | Team captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
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AS Douanes | ![]() |
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AS Salé | ![]() |
Jordan | ||
AS Police | ![]() |
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FAP | ![]() |
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Ferroviário de Maputo | ![]() |
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GNBC | ![]() |
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GS Pétroliers | ![]() |
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Patriots | ![]() |
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Petro de Luanda | ![]() |
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Rivers Hoopers | ![]() |
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US Monastir | ![]() |
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Zamalek | ![]() |
Foreign players
Team | African | Non-African | ||
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Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | |
AS Douanes | ![]() |
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AS Salé | ![]() |
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AS Police | ![]() |
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FAP | ![]() |
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Ferroviário de Maputo | ![]() |
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GNBC | ![]() |
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GS Pétroliers | ![]() |
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Patriots | ![]() |
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Petro de Luanda | ||||
Rivers Hoopers | ![]() |
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US Monastir | ![]() |
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Zamalek | ![]() |
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Venues
On 1 August 2019, the NBA announced the seven host cities for the regular season.[3] 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.
Arena | Capacity | Location |
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Dakar Arena | Dakar, Senegal | |
Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex | Cairo, Egypt | |
Salle El Bouâzzaoui | Salé, Morocco | |
Kilamba Arena | Luanda, Angola | |
Kigali Arena (Final Four) | Kigali, Rwanda | |
National Stadium | Lagos, Nigeria | |
Mohamed-Mzali Sports Hall | Monastir, Tunisia |
Qualifying Tournaments
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.
Teams
Transactions
Regular season
In the regular season, twelve teams play in two Conferences with six teams each. Each team will play five games, one against each opponent, inside its conference. The top three teams from each conference advance to the Super 6.[14] The games will be played in six arenas divided over the African continent.[14] The regular season will start in March 2020.
Nile Conference
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification | ![]() |
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1 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to Playoffs | — | ||||||
2 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||||
3 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||||
4 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||||
5 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||||
6 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Sahara Conference
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification | ![]() |
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1 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to Playoffs | — | ||||||
2 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||||
3 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||||
4 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||||
5 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||||
6 | ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Playoffs
The season concludes with the play-offs which will be played in the Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.[15]
Bracket
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
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References
- ^ "NBA, FIBA launching 12-team league in Africa; Barack Obama to have hands-on role". USA TODAY.
- ^ "Basketball Africa League postpones start of inaugural season". NBA.com. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ a b c "NBA's Basketball Africa League Reveals Seven Host Cities for Inaugural Season". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
- ^ "FIBA Press Release - February 15, 2020: Basketball Africa League announces the 12 teams that will compete in inaugural season".
- ^ "BAL Conferences are drawn: Nile and Sahara Conference". 20 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ "L'As Douanes représentera le Sénégal au Basketball Africa League". Senego.com. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ "African clubs to compete in qualifying tournaments for the Basketball Africa League confirmed". FIBA Africa. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ "River Hoopers win 2019 NBBF President's Cup, qualify for Basketball Africa League". 18 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ a b "GSP, FAP qualify to the regular season of Basketball Africa League 2020". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ "AS Police secure maiden Basketball Africa League ticket". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ "GNBC flair sparks life into Basketball Africa League Qualifiers". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Donald Rashaad Singleton en renfort de la GNBC – Midi Madagasikara". 26 February 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Lagos ready to take over Surulere National Stadium – Ambode". Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ^ a b "NBA's Basketball Africa League Gets One Step Closer To Reality With Announcement Of Host Cities". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ^ "Rwanda to host NBA's Africa League final". The East African. Retrieved 11 November 2019.