Английская Википедия:2023 BAL season
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Infobox basketball league season The 2023 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 3, was the third season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).[1] The season began on 11 March 2023 and ended on 27 May 2023. The playoffs were played in the BK Arena in Kigali, which hosted the final stage for a third season in a row. The regular season was played in Dakar, Senega and Cairo, Egypt, both venues hosted a conference for a second year in a row.
Al Ahly defeated AS Douanes in the final, which was played in the BK Arena in Kigali, for a first-ever BAL title.[2] As the winners, Al Ahly automatically qualified for the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup Singapore.[3]
US Monastir were the defending champions, having won their first title in the previous edition, but were eliminated in the Sahara Conference.
Qualification
The first round of the qualifying stage consists of 20 teams that play in four groups of five, each held in different cities. In the Elite 16, the teams are joined by 6 teams that qualified during the previous 2022 BAL qualification. Two groups of five teams are played to determine the six teams that advance to the main tournament.[4]
On 21 September 2021, FIBA Africa announced the 26 teams in the qualifying tournaments as well as the six countries that would qualify directly.[4]
East Division
Group phase
| Group A (Niamey) |
Group B (Yaoundé) |
|---|---|
| 2023 BAL qualification | 2023 BAL qualification |
Elite 16
| Group A (Abidjan) |
Group B (Abidjan) |
|---|---|
| 2023 BAL qualification | 2023 BAL qualification |
Final round
{{#invoke:RoundN|main|columns=2|3rdplace=yes|bold_winner=high
|RD1=Semi-finals|RD2=Final|RD3=Third place game
|18 November 2022 |Шаблон:Flagicon Bangui Sporting Club|61|Шаблон:Flagicon SLAC|69 |18 November 2022|Шаблон:Flagicon Stade Malien|59|Шаблон:Flagicon ABC Fighters|62
|19 November 2022|Шаблон:Flagicon SLAC|70|Шаблон:Flagicon ABC Fighters|81 |19 November 2022|Шаблон:Flagicon Bangui Sporting Club|59|Шаблон:Flagicon Stade Malien|62 }}
East Division
Group phase
| Group A (Dar es Salaam) |
Group B (Antananarivo) |
|---|---|
| 2023 BAL qualification | 2023 BAL qualification |
Elite 16
| Group C (Johannesburg) |
Group D (Johannesburg) |
|---|---|
| 2023 BAL qualification | 2023 BAL qualification |
Final round
{{#invoke:RoundN|main|columns=2|3rdplace=yes|bold_winner=high
|RD1=Semi-finals|RD2=Final|RD3=Third place game
|26 November|Шаблон:Flagicon Urunani|62|Шаблон:Flagicon Ferroviário da Beira|68 |26 November|Шаблон:Flagicon City Oilers|69|Шаблон:Flagicon Cape Town Tigers|75
|27 November|Шаблон:Flagicon Ferroviário da Beira|71|Шаблон:Flagicon Cape Town Tigers|81 |27 November|Шаблон:Flagicon Urunani|62|Шаблон:Flagicon City Oilers|71
}}
Teams
Petro de Luanda was the first team to qualify for the season when it won the Angolan League on 10 May 2022.[5] The last qualified team was City Oilers who captured the third place in the Road to BAL East Division on 27 November 2022. The twelve teams of the 2023 BAL season were officially confirmed on 13 February 2023.[6] After an absence of a Nigerian representative in the 2022 season due to FIBA's punishment of the Nigeria Basketball Federation,[7] Kwara Falcons was directly qualified as winners of the Nigerian Premier League.[8]
Al Ahly, Kwara Falcons, ABC Fighters and Stade Malien will make their debut in the competition. ABC Fighters is the first team from Ivory Coast to play in the BAL, while City Oilers is the first team from Uganda.[9][6]
Two teams, defending champions US Monastir and runners-up Petro de Luanda, appear in their third consecutive season.
| Team | Method of
qualification |
Date of
qualification |
Finals
appearance |
Previous
appearance |
Consecutive
appearances |
Previous best
performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Шаблон:Flagicon Petro de Luanda | Angolan Basketball League winners | 10 May 2022[5] | 3rd | 2022 | 3 | Runners-up (2022) |
| Шаблон:Flagicon US Monastir | Championnat National A winners | 16 May 2022 | 3rd | 2022 | 3 | Champions (2022) |
| Шаблон:Flagicon Al Ahly | Egyptian Super League winners | 16 May 2022[10] | 1st | – | 1 | – |
| Шаблон:Flagicon REG | RBL winners | 19 September 2022[11] | 2nd | 2022 | 2 | Quarter-finals (2022) |
| Шаблон:Flagicon AS Douanes | Nationale 1 winners | 15 October 2022[12] | 2nd | 2021 | 1 | Quarter-finals (2021) |
| Шаблон:Flagicon Kwara Falcons | NBBF Premier League winners | 12 November 2022[8] | 1st | – | 1 | – |
| Шаблон:Flagicon ABC Fighters | Road to BAL West Division winners | 17 November 2022[9] | 1st | – | 1 | – |
| Шаблон:Flagicon SLAC | Road to BAL West Division runners-up | 17 November 2022[13] | 2nd | 2022 | 2 | Quarter-finals (2022) |
| Шаблон:Flagicon Stade Malien | Road to BAL West Division third place | 18 November 2022[14] | 1st | – | 1 | – |
| Шаблон:Flagicon Ferroviário da Beira | Road to BAL East Division runners-up | 26 November 2022[15] | 2nd | 2022 | 2 | Group stage (2022) |
| Шаблон:Flagicon Cape Town Tigers | Road to BAL East Division winners | 26 November 2022[16] | 2nd | 2022 | 2 | Quarter-finals (2022) |
| Шаблон:Flagicon City Oilers | Road to BAL East Division third place | 27 November 2022 | 1st | – | 1 | – |
Personnel
Augustí Julbe of Al Ahly was the only coach this season to already have won a BAL championship, as he won the 2021 title with Zamalek.
| Team | Head coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| ABC Fighters | Шаблон:Flagicon Liz Mills[17] | Шаблон:Flagicon Stéphane Konaté |
| Al Ahly | Шаблон:Flagicon Augustí Julbe[18] | Шаблон:Flagicon Seif Samir |
| AS Douanes | Шаблон:Flagicon Pabi Guèye | Шаблон:Flagicon Alkaly Ndour |
| Cape Town Tigers | Шаблон:Flagicon Rasheed Hazzard[19] | Шаблон:Flagicon Pieter Prinsloo |
| City Oilers | Шаблон:Flagicon Mandy Juruni | Шаблон:Flagicon James Okello |
| Ferroviário da Beira | Шаблон:Flagicon Luís Lopes Hernandez[20] | Шаблон:Flagicon Will Perry |
| Kwara Falcons | Шаблон:Flagicon Baba Jubril | Шаблон:Flagicon Victor Ezeh |
| Petro de Luanda | Шаблон:Flagicon José Neto[21] | Шаблон:Flagicon Carlos Morais |
| REG | Шаблон:Flagicon Dean Murray[22] | Шаблон:Flagicon Olivier Shyaka |
| SLAC | Шаблон:Flagicon Željko Zečević | Шаблон:Flagicon Ibrahima Kalil Fofana |
| Stade Malien | Шаблон:Flagicon Kaba Kanté | Шаблон:Flagicon Makan Keita |
| US Monastir | Шаблон:Flagicon Miodrag Perišić[23] | Шаблон:Flagicon Radhouane Slimane |
Foreign and Elevate players
Each BAL team was allowed to have four foreign players on its roster, including only two non-African players. Players in italics were signed only for the playoffs. If players have multiple nationalities, the nationality of an African nation is shown.
Each team also featured one player from the NBA Academy Africa, under the BAL Elevate program.[24] The players were drafted in an online meeting by the teams and the official list were announced on 28 February 2023.[25]
Notes
Notable transactions
- On 23 September 2022, Petro de Luanda signed two-time BAL champion Solo Diabate, who came over from US Monastir.[45]
- On 10 January 2023, AS Douanes announced the signing of two-time BAL scoring champion Terrell Stoglin. They signed Chris Crawford, who played in the two previous BAL seasons, as well to complete their back court.[54]
- On 21 January 2023, US Monastir signed Jerome Randle, a former NBL MVP winner in Australia.[53]
- On 4 February 2023, the Cape Town Tigers signed Zaire Wade. Because Zaire is the son of Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, the signing gained attention in the United States.[36]
- On 23 February 2023, ABC Fighters announced the signing of Abdoulaye Harouna, who lined up for his third BAL season.[55]
- On 10 March 2023, Petro de Luanda signed Ater Majok, reigning BAL champion and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Majok came over from US Monastir.[56]
- In May, ahead of the playoffs, the ABC Fighters signed Omar Abada, who was an All-BAL First Team selection in 2021.[26]
Pre-season
US Monastir, as champions of the 2022 BAL season, participated in the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup. It was the second time a BAL team participated in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. In the competition, played in February and hosted in La Laguna in Spain, Monastir finished fourth after two losses against CB Canarias and Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[57]
ESPN declared Petro de Luanda, last year's runners-up, as the title favourites in their annual season preview.[58]
Combine
The league hosted their official second BAL Combine on 15 and 16 January 2023 at The One Ball Training Center in Paris.[59] The combine featured 30 players and was directed by former NBA head coach Quin Snyder.[60] Several players signed a contract with a BAL team after participating in the Combine.[61]
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Adonis Filer | REG |
| Chudier Bile | ABC Fighters |
| Makhtar Gueye | Ferroviário da Beira |
| Zaire Wade | Cape Town Tigers |
Schedule
The schedule for the 2023 season was officially released on 13 February 2023.[6]
| Phase | Round | Draw date | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | First Round | – | 12–30 October 2022 |
| Elite 16 | 3 November 2022 | 14–27 November 2022 | |
| Group phase | Sahara Conference | – | 11–21 March 2023 |
| Nile Conference | 26 April – 6 May 2023 | ||
| Playoffs | Quarter-finals | 21–27 May 2023 | |
| Semi-finals | |||
| Final and third place |
Regular season
The regular season is played from 11 March to 6 May 2023. The twelve teams are divided into two conferences of six teams each. Teams in each group play each other one time, whereafter the top four teams advance to the playoffs.
| Tiebreakers |
|---|
The ranking of teams in the regular season is determined as follows:[62]
|
Sahara Conference
Шаблон:Main article The games of the Sahara Conference were played from 11 March to 21 March 2023 and were hosted in the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal for a second consecutive season. Stade Malien finished as Conference winner, due to their head-to-head point difference that determined the ranking of five teams with a 3–2 record. The defending BAL champions, US Monastir, missed the playoffs after they lost on the last game day. {{#lst:2023 BAL Sahara Conference|Standings}}
Nile Conference
Шаблон:Main article The games of the Nile Conference will be played from 26 April to 6 May 2023 and will be played in the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in 6th of October, Cairo, Egypt.
Petro de Luanda went undefeated and won the conference, after defeating four teams with a margin of at least 17 points. In the most notable match-up of the conference, Petro de Luanda defeated Al Ahly on a buzzer-beater by Gerson Gonçalves.
{{#lst:2023 BAL Nile Conference|Standings}}
Playoffs
Шаблон:Main article The playoffs were held from 21 May to 27 May 2023 in the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda for the third consecutive season.
Bracket
{{#lst:2023 BAL Playoffs|Bracket}}
Individual awards
The winner of the Coach of the Year award was announced on 26 May.[63] The Defensive Player of the Year, Sportsmanship Award and Most Valuable Player were announced on 27 May.
- Most Valuable Player: Nuni Omot, Al Ahly
- Defensive Player of the Year: Aliou Diarra, Stade Malien
- Coach of the Year: Pabi Gueye, AS Douanes
- Sportsmanship Award: Will Perry, Ferroviário da Beira
- All-BAL First Team[64]
- BAL All-Defensive Team
Statistics
Individual statistic leaders
| Category | Player | Team(s) | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Falando Jones | City Oilers | 21.6 |
| Rebounds per game | Aliou Diarra | Stade Malien | 12.8 |
| Assists per game | Cleveland Thomas | REG | 6.7 |
| Steals per game | Dane Miller Jr. | SLAC | 3.2 |
| Blocks per game | Aliou Diarra | Stade Malien | 2.3 |
| Minutes per game | Dane Miller Jr. | SLAC | 39.3 |
| FG% | Dane Miller Jr. | SLAC | 55.6% |
| 3P% | Ibrahima Thomas | US Monastir | 44.8% |
| FT% | Will Perry | Ferroviário da Beira | 96.7% |
Individual game highs
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Will Perry | Ferroviário da Beira | 41 |
| Rebounds | Aliou Diarra | Stade Malien | 16 |
| Assists | Cleveland Thomas | REG | 10 |
| Dane Miller Jr. | SLAC | ||
| Will Perry | Ferroviário da Beira | ||
| Steals | Ulrich Kra | ABC Fighters | 6 |
| Blocks | Aliou Diarra | Stade Malien | 5 |
| Ater Majok | Petro de Luanda | ||
| Mouhamadou Diagne | AS Douanes | ||
| Three pointers | Will Perry | Ferroviário da Beira | 9 |
References
Шаблон:Basketball Africa League
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