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TimesLIVE
06-06-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
20 players to watch at 2025 Basketball Africa League playoffs in Pretoria
Shortlisting players who can make a difference in the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs is anything but easy, given their potential effect on their teams in the finals in Pretoria. The BAL playoffs take place from Friday to June 14 at the SunBet Arena. Here are the top 20 players to watch at the 2025 BAL playoffs: Jaylen Adams (Al Ahli Tripoli) Born: May 4 1996 Height: 6'1" (1.86m) Position: Point Guard Team: Al Ahli Tripoli Nationality: American The former Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks NBA player made his BAL debut in style during the Nile Conference in Kigali earlier this month, averaging 18.5 points and five assists per game. Adams, the winner and MVP of the 2022 Australian League with the Sydney Kings, was one of the reasons the Libyan champions had a perfect 6-0 record in the regular season. Mohamed Sadi (Al Ahli Tripoli) Born: August 5 1995 Height: 6'4" (1.95m) Position: Guard Team: Al Ahli Tripoli Nationality: Libyan Sadi, who made his BAL debut in 2021 playing for the Senegalese team AS Douanes, is known for his warrior spirit on both ends of the floor. Al Ahli Tripoli head coach Fouad Abou Chacra named him the team's MVP, citing not only his team-high 135 efficiency rating and 14.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, but also his never-die attitude. 🔥🏀 History in the making! 1️⃣2️⃣ African teams. 6️⃣ newcomers. 1️⃣ ultimate champion. BAL Season 5 tips off April 5 in Morocco, who's bringing home the crown? 👀🔥 — Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) February 28, 2025 George King (Al Ittihad Alexandria) Born: January 15 1994 Height: 6'6" (2.01m) Position: Shooting Guard Nationality: American King, one of three former NBA players in the current BAL season along with George Adams and Chasson Randle, displayed differentiated shooting ability during the Kalahari Conference. He is disciplined defensively, but it's on the offensive end that he causes the most damage to opponents. He averaged 16 points in Al Ittihad's 6-0 regular season run. Patrick Hardy Jnr (US Monastir) Born: April 6 1998 Height: 6'2" (1.89m) Position: Point Guard Nationality: American We learnt that most of US Monastir's offensive plays involved Hardy Jnr in some way, contributing enormously to their 4-2 record in the Sahara Conference. He registered the highest efficiency rating of 107, leading the Tunisian champions with 17.3 points and five assists per game. Patrick Jnr is a decent three-point shooter who sinks three three-pointers per game. Peter Olisemeka (Rivers Hoopers) Born: December 9 1991 Height: 6'9" (2.1m) Position: Centre Nationality: Nigerian Olisemeka's strongest asset is rebounding, so it came as no surprise that he had 68 rebounds in six games, the highest in the BAL regular season. The Nigerian power forward set a season record with 17 rebounds in a game and became the only player to finish with eight offensive rebounds in the 94—77 loss to Al Ittihad Alexandria on April 12 in Rabat, Morocco. Chasson Randle (APR) Born: February 5 1993 Height: 6'1" (1.86m) Position: Point Guard Nationality: American The 2018 EuroLeague champion with Real Madrid made his debut with APR, averaging 16 points and 3.3 assists per game. Randle, who had short stints with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks, had the third-highest three-point shooting percentage in the regular season at 48.8%. Yanick Moreira (Petro de Luanda) Born: July 31 1991 Height: 6'10" (2.08m) Position: Centre Nationality: Angolan Before shooting 7-for-8 and scoring 16 points in Petro de Luanda's 103-74 win over Kriol Star, the former G-League champion with the Toronto 905 became the second player this season — after Al Ittihad's Youssef Aboushousha's 6-for-6 — to hit all five of his shots and finish with 11 points in Petro's 65-64 loss to ASC Ville de Dakar. Moreira, A 2009 Basketball Without Border Africa camper, is the only player to have won titles in the G-League, the BAL, and the FIBA Champions League. Nuni Omot (APR) Born: October 3 1994 Height: 6'8" (2.07m) Position: Small Forward Nationality: South Sudanese Omot made his mark in the BAL by leading the Egyptian giants Al Ahly SC to the 2023 title. In the process, he took home the season MVP award. A regular member of the South Sudanese national team, Omot competed in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, averaging 17 points per game. He also wore the Bright Stars uniform at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in the Philippines. The stage is set for the BAL Playoffs in Pretoria 🇿🇦🏟️ #BAL5 — Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) June 6, 2025 Anas Mahmoud (Al Ittihad Alexandria) Born: September 5, 1995 Height: 7'0" (2.13m) Position: Power Forward/Centre Nationality: Egyptian Mahmoud, who won the 2021 BAL with Zamalek, is known for his shot-blocking and rebounding abilities. These abilities earned him the 2022 BAL Defensive Player of the Year Award. He is a regular member of the Egyptian national team and helped his country finish second at the 2013 AfroBasket when he was 17. He then embarked on a US college basketball career at the University of Louisville. Omar Abada (FUS Rabat) Born: April 20 1993 Height: 6'1" (1.86m) Position: Point Guard Nationality: Tunisian Abada just joined the Moroccan champions for the BAL playoffs after helping Club Africain win the 2025 Tunisian league title earlier this month. He made headlines when he was named to the 2021 BAL First Team in a tournament that helped US Monastir secure second place. Abada is in his third BAL season and is a two-time FIBA AfroBasket champion with Tunisia (2017 and 2021). Jean Jacques Boissy (Al Ahli Tripoli) Born: January 28 2000 Height: 6'2" (1.88m) Position: Guard Nationality: Senegalese Earlier this month Boissy put on a spectacular display in the Nile Conference. The Senegalese guard came off the bench for all six of Al Ahli Tripoli's games, yet he still finished with a regular season high of 23.8 points per game. In his debut with the Libyan champions, Boissy shot 8-for-13 from deep, finishing just short of the BAL record set by Will Perry, who shot 9-for-14 and led Ferroviario da Beira to a 102-92 win over SLAC on April 30, 2023. Kyle Vinales (Al Ittihad Alexandria) Born: June 18 1992 Height: 6'2" (1.88m) Position: Point Guard Nationality: American Vinales is a typical point guard who creates shooting opportunities for his teammates and demonstrates defensive leadership. The American guard had the second-highest efficiency on Al Ittihad Alexandria, behind only Majok Deng, while averaging 12 points and 5.3 assists per game. Madut Akec (Rivers Hoopers) Born: January 1 1999 Height: 6'8" (2.03m) Position: Shooting Guard Nationality: South Sudanese In his second BAL season, after playing for AS Douanes in 2024, Madut played a huge role in helping the Rivers Hoopers finish with the second-best record (4—2) in the 2025 Kalahari Conference in Rabat in April. Madut excelled on both ends of the floor, averaging 17.8 points and 7.7 rebounds, and registering the third-highest efficiency rating (129) in the regular season. Madut also had the highest three-point shooting percentage (58.6%). Jo Lual Acuil (Al Ittihad Alexandria) Born: April 26 1994 Height: 7'0" (2.13m) Position: Centre Nationality: South Sudanese Acuil had a nearly perfect BAL debut last season. He was named the league's MVP and Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the All-BAL First Team. However, his Al Ahly team lost to Petro de Luanda in the 2025 BAL Final. Acuil is a member of the South Sudanese national team. Let the show begin in Pretoria! 🤩🇿🇦 ⏰ 4PM: Kriol Star vs FUS de Rabat ⏰ 7PM: Alahli SC vs AL Ittihad 🎟 👀 Watch the games live on: 📺 The BAL YouTube: 📲 / NBA App — Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) June 6, 2025 Majok Deng (Al Ittihad Alexandria) Born: January 3 1993 Height: 6'9" (2.05m) Position: Power Forward Nationality: South Sudanese Deng was a highly productive substitute; that's the only way to describe his impact on Al Ittihad Alexandria's rotation. The 2024 Paris Olympian from South Sudan recorded the highest efficiency (93) for the Egyptian giants, contributing 14.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Deng was on the Al Ahly Ly team that came in second last year. Jonathan Jordan (FUS Rabat) Born: October 7 1992 Height: 5'10" (1.77m) Position: Point Guard Nationality: American Imagine a relatively short player with unparalleled jumping ability. Now picture a player who can shoot from every corner of the floor. That player is Jonathan Jordan. A 2017 NBA G-League champion with the Toronto 905, he has been one of FUS Rabat's most productive players, averaging 13 points and five assists per game. Ivan Almeida (Kriol Star) Born: May 10 1989 Height: 6'6" (2.01m) Position: Guard/Small Forward Nationality: Cape Verdean Throughout the Sahara Conference, where the Creoles finished 3-3, Almeida emerged as Kriol Star's do-it-all and go-to guy. A regular member of the Cape Verdean national team, Almeida recorded the sixth-highest efficiency rating (116) in the regular season, averaging 17.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He had four double-doubles in six games. MBB miss out on Pretoria playoffs after BAL conference elimination Johannesburg's Made by Ball's (MBB) dream of reaching the Basketball Africa League playoffs in their debut season was torpedoed when they were beaten ... Sport 1 week ago Aliou Diarra (APR) Born: December 12 2001 Height: 6'10" (2.08m) Position: Power Forward/Centre Nationality: Malian During the Nile Conference, Diarra was APR's most impactful player, averaging 19.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.5 blocks per game. He had the fifth-highest efficiency rating (118) in the regular season. He set a BAL record with eight blocks in APR's 77-74 win over the Nairobi City Thunder, surpassing the previous record of seven set by Anas Mahmoud and Khaman Maluach in the 2022 and 2024 seasons, respectively. Firas Lahyani (US Monastir) Born: July 16 1991 Height: 6'7" (2.0m) Position: Power Forward Nationality: Tunisian Lahyani is colloquially known as 'Air Tunisia' because of his ability to easily dunk and jump. He recorded the second-highest efficiency (101) for US Monastir while averaging nine points and nine rebounds at the Sahara Conference in Dakar last month. A regular member of the Tunisian national team, Lahyani helped his country win the 2017 FIBA AfroBasket tournament. Patrick Gardner (Petro de Luanda) Born: June 16 1999 Height: 6'11" (2.11m) Position: Power Forward/Centre Nationality: Egyptian Gardner is a big man who can shoot from deep, which is one of the attributes that makes him a menace to opponents. He had the highest efficiency rating (96) for Petro de Luanda in the Sahara Conference in Dakar, where the reigning BAL champions finished 3—3. He contributed 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Gardner, who is left-handed, is in his second BAL season, having played for Al Ahly SC last season. He played for Egypt at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and played two seasons in the NBA G League, averaging six points per game.
Libya Observer
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Libya Observer
Al Ahly Tripoli qualify for BAL finals with record-breaking run
Kigali, Rwanda – Libyan basketball club Al Ahly Tripoli have secured their place in the finals of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) after a dominant performance in the Nile Conference, finishing with a perfect 6–0 record. The team, coached by Lebanon's Fouad Abou Chacra, swept past South Africa's MBB, Kenya's Nairobi City Thunder, and hosts Rwanda Army, winning both home and away ties in the round-robin stage. Their unbeaten campaign extends to 12 games, including earlier qualifiers in Tripoli and Abidjan. Al Ahly's performances in Kigali were not only convincing but historic. The Libyan side shattered the BAL's all-time scoring record with a 115–87 win over Nairobi, eclipsing the previous record of 113 points set by US Monastir in 2021. They also became the first team in the tournament's history to score over 100 points in four separate matches. Senegalese forward Jean Jacques Boissy made headlines with a 30-point game—the highest individual tally in BAL history—surpassing the previous best of 29 points set by US Monastir's DJ Hardy. Team captain Mohamed Al-Saadi also impressed, ranking second in rebounds with an average of 9.5 per game. Speaking after the win, point guard Nassim Badrouch praised the team's achievement but urged caution ahead of the finals in Pretoria, South Africa, which begin on 5 June. Al Ahly Tripoli will face fellow undefeated side Al Ittihad Alexandria of Egypt to determine final seeding. The winner will face the loser of Creole Sport (Cape Verde) vs FUS Rabat (Morocco) in the quarter-finals, while the runner-up will play the winner. The knockout stage will determine the 2025 BAL champion. The tournament is organised by FIBA Africa in collaboration with the NBA. Tags: basketball club Al Ahly Tripoli
TimesLIVE
25-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
MBB miss out on Pretoria playoffs after BAL conference elimination
Johannesburg's Made by Ball's (MBB) dream of reaching the Basketball Africa League playoffs in their debut season was torpedoed when they were beaten 102-73 by Al Alhy Tripoli in their last Nile Conference game at the BK Arena in Kigali on Sunday. This means SA will not have a representative when the playoffs take place at the Sunbet Arena in Pretoria in two weeks. MBB had to beat conference leaders Al Ahly if they were to qualify to play on home soil as per the standings. They needed to finish second or at least third for the last wild card spot. That spot falls to FUS Rabat of Morocco, who, like MBB, won two games but have a better points difference of -19 compared with the Johannesburg side's -64. US import Teafale Lenard Jr put in another impressive shift on top of his 39 points which he had scored the previous day. The ex-NBA G League player put up 18 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, but his efforts were not enough to carry the team over the line. Jovan Mooring with 10 points and Pieter Prinsloo (11) were the only other players to score double figures. The bench contributed 27 points. By contrast, the men from Libya had 49 points. The 2.13m tall David Craig, who missed the Nairobi City Thunder game on Saturday with a stomach bug, returned to the starting five and was the only change head coach Sam Vincent made. Tripoli quickly opened up a four-point gap from the tip-off, but Lenard levelled matters. With that kind of clinical display from the perimeter, there is no question why Jaylen Adams walks away with the @visitrwanda_now MVP accolade 👏. #BAL5 — Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) May 25, 2025 From then, MBB found their mojo and put up a seven-point extension into the score line and were 14-7 with four minutes remaining, but the Libyan outfit made a comeback and tied the game 16-16 with two minutes left. Though MBB were resilient, Al Ahly ended up winning the quarter 23-16. MBB kept on chipping important buckets in the second quarter, but whenever they moved closer to Tripoli's score, Italian head coach Abou Chacra's men would step on the accelerator. The closest difference MBB moved to was a three-point deficit at 30-27 with four minutes before halftime. Al Ahly, who had already secured a place in the playoffs, went to the dressing room team talk ahead at 42-34. The Libyans ensured that the writing was on the wall for the South Africans and diminished any thoughts of a miracle comeback. They walked away with the game in the third quarter. Jean Jacques Boissy, who was arguably the best player in the conference, slotted a three-point step back jump shot five minutes into the quarter, and Al Ahly took a lead of 22 points. Tripoli had a 69-48 advantage heading into the last 10 minutes of the game. Despite Lenard, Prinsloo and Mooring putting shots at the end, it was not enough to stop the Libyans as they walked away with a 29-point win. US player Jaylen Adams, who played 32:43 for Tripoli, finished with a top score of 28 points.
TimesLIVE
21-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Vincent has flashbacks of legendary Larry Bird in Prinsloo's display against Thunder
Made By Ball (MBB) head coach Sam Vincent says he saw glimpses of his former Boston Celtics teammate and Hall of Famer Larry Bird in Pieter Prinsloo's match-winning performance against Nairobi City Thunder in the Basketball Africa League in Kigali on Tuesday. The Pretoria-born Prinsloo had 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Robinson Odoch-Opong knocked down a three-pointer at the death to help MBB to a 75-74 win in the Nile Conference. 'There were moments when I was having fond NBA flashbacks, because Pieter today [Tuesday], he reminded me of Larry,' Vincent said. 'No disrespect to Larry but some of the shots [Prinsloo] hit on the step-back threes and the low post moves, he was sensational.' Vincent also praised Teafale Lenard Jnr, who scored 20 points, saying he reminded him of another teammate in former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen. Pippen was a crucial member of the Bulls' championship-winning team that featured players such as Michael Jordan, Steve Kerr and Dennis Rodman and dominated the NBA in the 1990s. 'I also had some flashbacks with Teafale and a couple of those monstrous dunks that he had reminded me of Scottie,' Vincent said. Pieter Prinsloo's double-double (30 PTS/11 REB) performance for MBB earned him the @visitrwanda_now Player of the Game mention. #BAL5 — Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) May 20, 2025 He said the adjustment he made by bringing 2.13m tall David Craig into the starting five in place of Nkosi Sibanyoni brought stability in their defence. The win was the Johannesburg-based team's first in the BAL after losing two games at the weekend. 'Getting this win is almost like a full circle,' Vincent said. 'I first came to South Africa in 1999 and got involved with basketball. 'From coaching in South Africa, I got to the NBA and had a chance to coach. 'Having a chance 25 years later to come back and get this win, which is so important for what we're trying to do to get more exposure and promote basketball in South Africa, is important. 'So it's exciting, but more importantly, we have to keep our heads down and keep on working, and that's what we're going to do in the next few games.' The win was influential in boosting MBB's chances for the playoffs in Pretoria. The South African team have to win one game with a superior points difference or two games, depending on how other matches play out in the conference, to comfortably claim the last wild card spot. That berth is now occupied by FUS Rabat of Morocco, who have won two games but have a -19 points difference. MBB will next play Rwanda's Armée Patriotique at the same venue on Thursday.
TimesLIVE
20-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Prinsloo stars as SA's MBB snatch first Basketball Africa win at the death
Pieter Prinsloo and Robinson Odoch produced the magic as Johannesburg's Made by Ball (MBB) claimed their first win in the Basketball Africa League at the BK Arena in Kigali on Tuesday. Ugandan Odoch slotted a three-point dagger at the sound of the buzzer to usher in wild celebrations as MBB secured a come-from-behind 75-74 win over Nairobi City Thunder. Prinsloo is the main man that head coach Sam Vincent would have bought drinks for on Tuesday night. The Pretoria-born star scored 30 points, had 11 rebounds and an assist. Another standout performer for MBB was Teafale Lenard Jr with 20 points and Jovan Mooring, who added 10. The win over City Thunder now means the SA team either have to win one game with a superior points difference, or two games, depending on how other matches play out in the Nile Conference, to comfortably claim the last wild card spot.
