BAL Day 1
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) tipped off its second season with Seydou Legacy Athletique Club (Guinea) defeating Dakar Universite Club (Senegal) 85-70 in the first game of the competition.
That's Game! @slacbasketball register an impressive 85-70 win over @DUCBASKET to kick start their #theBAL campaign off on a positive note. #SLAC_together #DUCbasket
— Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) March 5, 2022
Now in its second season, the Basketball Africa League will pit twelve champions across the African continent in a quest to lift the trophy in May in Kigali, Rwanda. From Saturday, March 15 to Tuesdsay March 5, six teams from the Sahara Conference will play each other for the right to secure a spot in the eight-team Playoffs in Kigali.
Six other teams from Nile Conference will begin their race for Kigali from April 9-19 in Cairo.
To advance to the playoffs, teams must finish in the top four places from each Conference, while the teams that finish in the last two places will be eliminated.
Dakar Universite Club vs. Seydou Legacy Athletique Club
Two teams that never faced each other before, an array of terrific shooters, and that’s how the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season Two will get underway on Saturday, March 5th when host Dakar Universite Club (DUC) takes on SLAC at Dakar Arena.
The DUC v SLAC clash will mark the start of the Sahara Conference, which will run until Tuesday, March 15th in Dakar, Senegal.
A quick look into the teams strengths and weaknesses, and the result is that there are more similarities than differences between the two sides although DUC may benefit from the homecourt advantage backed by an enthusiastic home crowd.
Bamba Diallo and Thierno Niang – two shooting guards with international recognition — are expected to take on leading roles offensively.
Diallo and Niang have, at some point in their careers, represented the Senegalese national team on the bug stage and the BAL may just be another chance to make a difference for a team that aims big in the second edition of the BAL.
“He has played in the BAL [for AS Douanes] before, and he can be a massive help for us, “ said DUC head coach Partfait Adjivon when asked about the signing of Diallo.
As well as Diallo and Niang, DUC Big-Three may be complete with Jordan Aboudou, a 31-year-old French player, who has spent a significant part of his career in PRO-A, France’s top-flight League.
Check out stats and schedule below.
