CAIRO, Egypt, April 7, 2022/ — Six Nile Conference Teams Feature 78 Players from 12 Countries Across Africa and the U.S., Including Two Former NBA Players; Nile Conference Opener Will Feature Defending BAL Champion Zamalek of Egypt Taking on South Sudan’s Cobra Sport at Hassan Moustafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo at 2:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CAT on Canal+, ESPN Africa, ESPN+, Voice of America, the NBA App, NBA.com and NBA.com/BAL; Tickets for Nile Conference Group Phase and Fan Zone Experience in Cairo from April 9-19 On Sale Now at NBA.com/BAL.
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today unveiled the rosters of the six teams (https://bit.ly/3DNXqFO) that will compete in the league’s Nile Conference group phase at the Hassan Moustafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo, Egypt, which tips off Saturday, April 9, and runs through Tuesday, April 19.
The six teams – BC Espoir Fukash (the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), Cobra Sport (South Sudan), FAP (Cameroon), Petro de Luanda (Angola) and Zamalek (Egypt) – collectively feature 78 players from 12 countries across Africa and the U.S.
In the Nile Conference opener, defending BAL champion Zamalek of Egypt will take on South Sudan’s Cobra Sport at 2:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CAT on Canal+, ESPN Africa, ESPN+, Voice of America, the NBA App, NBA.com, and NBA.com/BAL in the first of 15 games taking place in Cairo this month.
The top four teams from the Nile Conference will join the top four teams from the Sahara Conference – REG (Rwanda), US Monastir (Tunisia), AS Salé (Morocco), and S.L.A.C (Guinea) – in the 2022 BAL Playoffs, which will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from May 21-28.
The Nile Conference features two former NBA players: Jamel Artis (Cape Town Tigers; last played for the Orlando Magic) and Ike Diogu (Zamalek; last played for the San Antonio Spurs).
Diogu, the ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, won the 2015 FIBA AfroBasket championship as a member of the Nigeria Men’s National Team and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament in 2017.
Each of the Nile Conference’s six teams, which come from six African countries, will have up to 13 players, at least eight of whom are citizens of their respective team’s home country and up to four of whom are from other countries, with no more than two players per team from outside of Africa.
As part of the BAL Elevate (https://on.NBA.com/3KlaBkb) program, each team’s 13th roster spot is reserved for a prospects from NBA Academy Africa, an elite basketball training center in Saly, Senegal, for the top high-school age prospects from across Africa and the first of its kind on the continent. Below are the six BAL Elevate players participating in the Nile Conference group phase:
| Team | BAL Elevate Player | Hometown/Country | Age | Height | Position |
| BC Espoir Fukash | Emmanuel Eberechukwu Okorafor | Abia State, Nigeria | 17 | 6’9 | F |
| Cape Town Tigers | Matar Diop | Dakar, Senegal | 18 | 6’8 | F |
| Cobra Sport | Khaman Madit Maluach | Rumbek, South Sudan | 15 | 7’0 | F |
| FAP | Ulrich Kamka Chomche | Bafang, Cameroon | 16 | 6’11 | F |
| Petro de Luanda | Thierry Serge Darlan | Bangui, Central African Republic | 18 | 6’6 | SG |
| Zamalek | Khadim Rassoul Mboup | Dakar, Senegal | 15 | 6’7 | G |
The Nile Conference group phase will feature 12 former NCAA Division I players, including five players with NBA G League experience:
| Team | Player | Country | Last College/University |
| Cape Town Tigers | Billy Preston* | U.S. | Kansas |
| Cape Town Tigers | Myck Kabongo* | DRC/Canada | Texas |
| Cape Town Tigers | Jamel Artis* | U.S. | Pittsburgh |
| Cape Town Tigers | Peter Prinsloo | South Africa | Marist |
| FAP | Alexis Wangmene Mang-Ikri | Cameroon | Texas |
| FAP | Morman Deshaun Lamar | U.S. | Towson |
| Petro de Luanda | Yanick Moreira* | Angola | Southern Methodist |
| Zamalek | Anas Mahmoud | Egypt | Louisville |
| Zamalek | Mikhael McKinney* | U.S. | Sacramento State |
| Zamalek | Edgar Sosa | U.S. | Louisville |
| Zamalek | Ike Diogu | U.S./Nigeria | Arizona State |
| Zamalek | Darryl DJ Strawberry Jr. | U.S. | Maryland |
*Players with NBA G League experience
The Nile Conference also features eight players who previously participated in Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program for top prospects from across the continent that has seen 10 former campers drafted into the NBA, including five-time NBA All-Star Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2012) and 2019 NBA champion Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2011):
| Team | Player | Country | BWB Experience |
| Cape Town Tigers | Igor Lunnemann | South Africa | BWB Africa 2018 |
| Cape Town Tigers | Lebesa Selepe | South Africa | BWB Africa 2008 & 2010 |
| Cape Town Tigers | Liam Reid | South Africa | BWB Africa 2014 |
| Cape Town Tigers | Nkosinathi Festile | South Africa | BWB Africa 2011 |
| FAP | Alexis Wangmene Mang-Ikri | Cameroon | BWB Africa 2004 |
| FAP | Yanis Rene Charles Ndjonga | Cameroon | BWB Africa 2018 |
| Petro de Luanda | Gerson Domingos | Angola | BWB Africa 2013 |
| Petro de Luanda | Yanick Moreira | Angola | BWB Africa 2009 |
The 12 BAL teams have been divided into two conferences – the Sahara Conference and the Nile Conference. Each conference plays a 15-game group phase during which each team faces the five other teams in its conference once. The Sahara Conference group phase took place at the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal from March 5-15.
*Rosters are subject to change
View Basketball Africa League 2022 Nile Conference Rosters: (https://on.NBA.com/36Uz6WZ)
About the BAL
The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa. The BAL, which is headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Regional Office Africa has organized in Africa and marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.
Fans can follow the BAL @theBAL on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and register their interest in receiving more information at www.theBAL.com.
