Basketball Africa League (BAL)

What to watch for in Basketball Africa League's Nile Conference

Check out key storylines to follow as Basketball Africa League resumes with Nile Conference action on April 26.

Evan Orris, for NBA.com

Petro De Luanda teammates celebrate advancing to the 2022 BAL Finals. 

After a thrilling end to the Sahara Conference and a five-week break, the Basketball Africa League is back with Nile Conference action set to begin April 26. The host team Al Ahly Sporting Club (Egypt) faces Clube Ferroviario da Beira (Mozambique) in the opener.

The two teams are joined by the Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), Petro de Luanda (Angola), City Oilers (Uganda), and SLAC (Guinea). Each team will play the other once, and the top four teams will advance to the championship round beginning May 20.

Here are some key storylines to watch for as Nile Conference play begins.

Familiar Faces

Former NBA players Josh Hall and Michael Gbinije, along with G League standout Zaire Wade, look to lead the Cape Town Tigers to a successful campaign.

Hall last played in the NBA during the 2020-21 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In his final game, the 6-foot-9 forward scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Since then, Hall has spent the past three seasons in the G League with three different teams.

Wade, who is the son of three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade, started his professional career in the G League with the Salt Lake City Stars. Zaire appeared in 12 games and averaged 18 minutes per game before suffering a season-ending injury.

Following nine months of rehab, he is healthy and has flashed the same potential that made him a touted high school prospect.

Gbinije appeared in 9 games with the Detroit Pistons in the 2016-17 season after being drafted No. 49 overall. He also played in 22 games for the Oklahoma City Blue in 2021-22. 

The Cape Town Tigers will be led by coach Rasheed Hazzard. The 46-year-old has had assistant coaching stints with the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers and New York Knicks.

Hazzard, along with Wade, Gbinije and Hall, look to bring a championship to Cape Town.

NBA Academy Africa making its mark

In 2018, the NBA opened a new elite basketball training facility in Senegal to help produce and develop elite men and women prospects from Africa. Since then, NBA Academy Africa has blossomed while preparing these prospects for their basketball careers.

Through the BAL Elevate program, each team is allotted a slot to select an academy player. Six players from the NBA Academy Africa will compete in the Nile Conference.

Dramane Sayon Camara (Al Ahly), Parby Kabamba Musongela (Cape Town Tigers), Segun Ezekiel Obe (City Oilers), Paul Kabenga Mbiya (CFV- Beira), Seifeldin Hendaway (Petro) and Mabilmawut Kon Mabil (SLAC) will showcase their development, potential and skills this season.

Former alumni include San Antonio Spurs center Gorgui Dieng and Ibou Badji, who recently signed to a two-way contract with the Trail Blazers but suffered a knee injury in March.

Redemption story

Last season, Clube Atlético Petroleos de Luanda went on a huge run to the BAL championship. However, they came up just short of their goal and lost to US Monastir 83-72.

The squad is back and maybe better than ever. Petro added Ater James Majok to the roster. Majok won the Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the Year award last season. The No. 58 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft previously played for US Monastir, where he defeated his new team in the finals.

Majok isn’t the only player that Petro signed from last year’s champions. Solo Diabate also joins Angola after spending the past two seasons with Monastir.

Adding the duo might be enough for Petro to return to the finals and handle some unfinished business.

A New Champion Will Be Crowned

The defending champions US Monastir saw their season cut short when they failed to come out of the Sahara Conference and make the playoffs. It was the first time that a defending champion would not reach the postseason.

That leaves a wide-open race to the finals. Will it be a team from the Sahara conference, or will it be one of the six teams from the Nile conference?

Which Nile Conference teams will meet Stade Malien, AS Douanes, REG, and the ABC Fighters in the championship round?

It will be an exhilarating race to the finish line. Stream all the action on NBA.com and the NBA App. 

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