The BAL playoffs are set to take place at Kigali’s BK Arena for the fourth consecutive year and feature eight top African teams. However, Rwanda will not participate in the competition for the first time since its inception.
From May 24 to June 1, the 2024 Basketball Africa League Playoffs will unfold at Kigali’s BK Arena. Seven teams are poised to challenge Egypt’s Al Ahly, who are striving to defend their title and etch their names in history.
On May 24, the eight qualified teams from three conferences will compete in seeding games to determine their playoff opponents.
FUS Rabat and Petro de Luanda represent the Kalahari Conference, while Al Ahly (Cairo) and Al Ahly (Benghazi) represent the Nile Conference.
Rivers Hoopers and AS Douanes represent the Sahara Conference, while the best third-ranked teams, US Monastir from the Sahara Conference and Cape Town Tigers from the Kalahari Conference, have also advanced.
APR, Rwanda’s representative in the 2024 BAL, concluded the Sahara Conference games with 2 wins and 4 losses, finishing at the bottom and getting eliminated.
APR Basketball Club began preparations in December last year, assembling the roster and necessary staff. They later held a 10-day training camp in Doha, Qatar, before hosting numerous international friendlies in Kigali. However, the real test in Dakar revealed the team’s unreadiness.
Since the league’s inception in 2021, Rwanda has consistently hosted the playoffs, but for the first time, the land of thousand hills won’t be represented in the BAL playoffs.
In less than 10 days, the qualified teams will converge in Kigali to commence the postseason games. Among them, only Petro de Luanda has participated in every playoff. Carlos Morais will captain Petro de Luanda for the fourth time. Under his guidance, the team has consistently reached the semifinals since 2021.
Egyptian champions Al Ahly will strive to become the first team to successfully defend the Basketball Africa League title. However, they face a formidable challenge, as the eight competing teams hail from three separate conferences for the first time.
