2022 Basketball Africa League Season: By the Numbers

KIGALI, Rwanda, May 5, 2022/ — Top Eight BAL Teams to Compete at BAL Playoffs and Finals in Kigali, Rwanda from May 21-28. Tickets On Sale Now at https://on.nba.com/3KHXCbr.

The 2022 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Playoffs and Finals will take place at Kigali Arena in Rwanda from Saturday, May 21 – to Saturday, May 28.

The top eight teams from the league’s Sahara and Nile Conferences will compete in a single-elimination Playoffs and Finals, with the winner crowned the second BAL champion.

The 2022 BAL Playoffs will tip off on May 21 at 8:30 a.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CAT when Angola’s Petro de Luanda (4-1) takes on Morocco’s AS Salé (3-2), followed by Rwanda’s REG (4-1) against Cameroon’s F.A.P (2-3) at noon ET / 6 p.m. CAT. The quarterfinals will continue on May 22 with Tunisia’s US Monastir (4-1) facing South Africa’s Cape Town Tigers (2-3) at 8:30 a.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CAT, followed by defending BAL champion Zamalek of Egypt (5-0) against Guinea’s S.L.A.C (2-3) at noon ET / 6 p.m. CAT.

Winners of the quarterfinal matchups will meet in the semifinals on May 25 for the chance to advance to the 2022 BAL Finals, which will be held May 28 at 12:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. CAT and will air in Africa on ESPN, Canal+, VisionView TV, TV5Monde and Voice of America (VOA) radio, and around the world on American Forces Network (AFN), ESPNews, TSN, the NBA App, NBA.com and NBA.com/BAL.

Tickets for the BAL Playoffs and Finals are on sale now in several categories, including group tickets, early bird tickets, premium tickets and standard tickets. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting https://on.nba.com/3w9oITE.

Below is the 2022 BAL Playoffs schedule and notable facts and figures about the 2022 BAL season:

• 1 – AS Salé head coach Liz Mills (Australia) became the first woman to coach a BAL team during the Sahara Conference group phase, which was held in Dakar, Senegal from March 5-15.  Mills led AS Salé to a 3-2 record and a spot in the BAL Playoffs.
• 3 – After taking place at a single site last season due to the pandemic, the 2022 BAL season expanded to three iconic African cities: Dakar, Senegal (March 5-15); Cairo, Egypt (April 9-19); and Kigali, Rwanda (May 21-28).
• 3 – The 2022 BAL season features three former NBA players: Jamel Artis (Cape Town Tigers; last played for the Orlando Magic), Ike Diogu (Zamalek; last played for the San Antonio Spurs) and D.J. Strawberry (Zamalek; last played for the Phoenix Suns).
• 4 – Four countries were represented in the BAL for the first time: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (BC Espoir Fukash), Guinea (S.L.A.C), South Africa (Cape Town Tigers) and South Sudan (Cobra Sport).  S.L.A.C (Sahara Conference) and the Cape Town Tigers (Nile Conference) both qualified for the 2022 BAL Playoffs after finishing in the top four in their respective conference.
• 4 – Four African players were among the top performers of the 2022 BAL group phase: Mayan Kiir (Cobra Sport; South Sudan) – averaging 18.8 points, 2.2 assists, 11.4 rebounds and 1 steal per game; Amadou Harouna (AS Salé; Niger) – averaging 19.8 points, 3.6 assists, 4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game; Rolly Fula Nganga (BC Espoir Fukash; the Democratic Republic of the Congo) – averaging 18.4 points, 2.4 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game; and Evans Ganapamo (Cape Town Tigers; Central African Republic) – averaging 17.4 points, 2.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.

• 5 – The league’s top five scorers from the group phase will be featured in BAL Playoffs:
• Terrel Stoglin (AS Salé) – 33.2 ppg
• Marcus Crawford (S.L.A.C) – 21.4 ppg
• Billy Preston (Cape Town Tigers) – 20.3 ppg
• Amadou Harouna (AS Salé) – 19.8 ppg
• Edgar Sosa (Zamalek) – 19.5 ppg
• 5 – Five teams returned in 2022 for their second BAL season: defending BAL champion Zamalek, 2021 runner-up US Monastir, semifinalist Petro de Luanda and quarterfinalists AS Salé and F.A.P.  All five teams qualified for the 2022 BAL Playoffs.
• 7 – Seven teams participated in the BAL for the first time this season: BC Espoir Fukash, Cape Town Tigers, Cobra Sport, CFV – Beira (Mozambique), DUC (Senegal), REG (Rwanda) and S.L.A.C.
• 8 – The eight playoff teams are REG (4-1), US Monastir (4-1), AS Salé (3-2) and S.L.A.C (2-3) from the Sahara Conference, and Zamalek (5-0), Petró de Luanda (4-1), Cape Town Tigers (2-3) and F.A.P (2-3) from the Nile Conference.
• 9 – The BAL and Canal+ Sports are co-producing nine episodes of “BAL Action”, a magazine show dedicated to the BAL that is distributed globally on partner broadcast platforms.
• 11 – The BAL has a roster of 11 world-class marketing partners: Foundational Partners New Fortress Energy (NFE), Rwanda Development Board (RDB), NIKE, Jordan Brand and Wilson, and official partners Alley-Oop Africa, Attorney General Alliance (AGA) – Africa, Destination Senegal and Air Senegal, Envol City, Flutterwave and Hennessy.
• 11 – 2021 BAL champion Zamalek is on an 11-game winning streak in the BAL after winning all five of its games during the Nile Conference group phase.  Last season Zamalek finished 6-0 and won the inaugural BAL championship.
• 12 – The BAL once again featured the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries.  As part of the new BAL Elevate program (https://on.nba.com/3LMO5Bi), one NBA Academy Africa prospect joined each of the 12 BAL teams for the 2022 season.  NBA Academy Africa is an elite basketball training center in Saly, Senegal, for the top high-school age prospects from across Africa.
• 13 – A combined 13 players who competed in the group phase previously played in the NBA G League, including US Monastir’s Ater James Majok, who was drafted 58^th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2011 NBA Draft.
• 13 – The 2022 BAL season is airing on 13 free-to-air channels across Africa: 2STV (Senegal), Arryadia (Morocco), Awa TV (Nigeria), CISTV (Guinea), DigiCongo TV (the Democratic Republic of the Congo), K24 (Kenya), Kolo TV (Madagascar), On Time Sports (Middle East and North Africa), RBA (Rwanda), SABC Sports (South Africa), Tunis TV (Tunisia), TVM (Mozambique) and TV Zimbo (Angola).
• 15 – Ater James Majok (US Monastir), who led the BAL in rebounding during the group phase, recorded 15 or more rebounds three times.
• 16 – REG’s Adonis Filer dished out a BAL-record 16 assists in his team’s opening game against AS Salé.  Filer averaged a league-high 9.2 assist per game during the group phase.
• 19 – The 12 BAL teams combined to feature 19 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.  Former BWB Africa campers currently in the NBA include five-time All-Star Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2011) and 2019 NBA Champion Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2012).
• 30 – The 12 BAL teams featured a combined 30 former NCAA Division I players.
• 38 – After the inaugural BAL season featured a total of 26 games, the 2022 BAL season expanded to a total of 38 games: two 15-game group phases followed by an eight-game Playoffs and Finals.
• 41 – AS Salé’s Terrel Stoglin, who wears number 41, set a new single-game BAL scoring record of 41 points in a 96-90 loss to US Monastir during the Sahara Conference group phase, breaking his own record of 40 points that he set during the 2021 BAL group phase.  Stoglin was the league’s top scorer during the group phase, averaging 33.2 points per game.
• 156 – The 12 BAL teams collectively featured 156 players from 23 countries across Africa, Europe and the U.S.
• 199 – A combined 199 media members were credentialed to cover BAL games on-site and remotely during the group phase games in Dakar and Cairo.
• 215 – The second BAL season is reaching fans in 215 countries and territories through free-to-air and paid TV broadcast partnerships with Canal+, ESPN, NBA TV, Tencent Sports, TSN, AFN, VOA, TV5Monde and VisionView TV and livestreaming on the NBA App, NBA.com and NBA.com/BAL.
• 400,000,000 – This season, the BAL has registered more than 400 million fan engagements through its online platforms, including 66 million influencer engagements, 22 million video views, 12 million social media engagements and four million visits to the official BAL website (NBA.com/BAL).

About the BAL:
The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa.  Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL 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 Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and register their interest in receiving more information at NBA.com/BAL.