Basketball Africa League started off its second season in Dakar, at Dakar’s Arena in Senegal on March 5, 2022. A dozen men’s club teams across the continent are contesting for the 2022 BAL championship title.
Rwanda’s Energy Group kicked off their Basketball Africa League season on Sunday with a win against Morocco’s AS Sale.
The BAL teams have been split into two conferences: Sahara and Nile. The Sahara teams – from Guinea, Morocco, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia – will compete against each other through March 15 at the Dakar Arena.
Nile teams – from Angola, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, South Africa and South Sudan – will play April 9 through 19 at Cairo’s Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex. Each conference’s top four teams will qualify for the playoffs, with a single-elimination tournament and finals at Kigali Arena May 21 to 28.
The BAL is a joint venture of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). It represents the NBA’s first collaboration operating a league outside North America.
The Moroccans took charge for the first two quarters of the match. After half-time, the Rwandan squad battled with precision, finishing first with a final score of 91-87.
In the other match of the day, Tunisia’s US Monastir squared up against Mozambique’s, Clube Ferroviário da Beira.
Tunisia’s US Monastir proved too strong for CFV Beira of Mozambique in a 77-71 win. The Mozambicans face Morocco’s AS Sale on Tuesday.