2026 BAL season

2026 BAL season
LeagueBasketball Africa League
SportBasketball
Duration27 March – 31 May 2026
Games42
Teams12
Season championsRwanda RSSB Tigers (1st title)
  Third placeLibya Al Ahly Ly
  Fourth placeEgypt Al Ahly
Season MVPCraig Randall
  Runners-upAngola Petro de Luanda

The 2026 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 6, was the 6th season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The playoffs and finals were held in BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, for a fifth time, as a result of a long-term agreement with the country.[1] The season began on 27 March and finished on 31 May 2026 with the final. The RSSB Tigers from Rwanda won their first title, after beating the defending champions Petro de Luanda in the final.

As winners, RSSB Tigers earned the right to play in the 2026 FIBA Intercontinental Cup. Al Ahli Tripoli were the previous champions, but did not qualify for the competition, as they lost in the finals of the Libyan Division I.

Venues

Under a long-term agreement between the Rwanda Development Board and the BAL, the playoffs and finals will be held in the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, for a record fifth time.[1]

Qualification

Elite 16

West Division

Association Team Qualification method
Cape Verde Cape Verde Kriol Star Direct qualification
 Libya Al Ahly Ly First round West Division Group A winner
 Mali CRB Tombouctou First round West Division Group A runners-up
 Ivory Coast JCA Kings First round West Division Group B winner
 Ghana Spintex Knights First round West Division Group B runners-up
 Gabon Moanda First round West Division Group C winner
Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo New Generation First round West Division Group C runners-up
 Central African Republic New Tech Bantou First round West Division best third place

East Division

Association Team Qualification method
Cameroon Cameroon BEAC Direct qualification
Kenya Kenya Nairobi City Thunder Direct qualification
 Tanzania Dar City First round East Division Group D winner
 Uganda Namuwongo Blazers First round East Division Group D runners-up
 South Africa Johannesburg Giants First round East Division Group E winner
 Mozambique Ferroviário da Beira First round East Division Group E runners-up
 Zambia Matero Magic First round East Division Group E third place
 Benin Elan Coton First round West Division second best third place

Teams

Petro de Luanda qualified for its sixth BAL season, a record for most appearances by any club.[2] For the first time in league history, US Monastir did not represent Tunisia, as they lost to Club Africain in the Championnat Pro A finals.[3]

For this season, eight teams qualified directly to the main stage, including the champions of Morocco and South Africa.[4] Dar City from Tanzania was given a wild card after finishing third in the East Division of the Road to BAL.[5]

On March 12, 2026, APR withdrew from the season, despite having earlier qualified as Rwandan national champions.[6] The team is owned by the Rwandan Defence Force, which had been under American sanctions due to allegations of supporting armed groups in the DR Congo.[7] As such, the team was not able to participate in the competition, as NBA Africa is an American entity.[8] On Mar 20, FERWABA announced that the RSSB Tigers would replace APR.[9]

Method of qualification and statistics

Team Method of qualification Date of qualification App. Previous year Cons. Best performance Ref.
Tunisia Club Africain 2024–25 Championnat Pro A 24 May 2025 1st – 1 Debut [3]
Angola Petro de Luanda 2024–25 Angolan Basketball League 30 May 2025 6th 2025 6 Champions (2024) [2]
Egypt Al Ahly 2024–25 Egyptian Basketball Premier League 1 June 2025 3rd 2024 1 Champions (2023) [10]
Senegal ASC Ville de Dakar 2025 Nationale 1 Masculin 30 June 2025 2nd 2025 2 Group phase (2025) [11]
Rwanda RSSB Tigers FERWABA-assigned replacement 20 March 2026 1st – 1 Debut [9]
Morocco FUS Rabat 2024–25 Division Excellence 3rd 2025 3 Quarterfinalist (2024, 2025)
Nigeria Maktown Flyers[a] 2025 NBBF Premier League 23 November 2025 1st – 1 Debut [13]
Libya Al Ahly Ly Elite 16 West Division finalist 15 November 2025 2nd 2024 1 Runners-up (2024) [14]
Ivory Coast Jeunesse Club d'Abidjan Elite 16 West Division finalist 15 November 2025 1st – 1 Debut [15]
South Africa Johannesburg Giants Elite 16 East Division finalist 22 November 2025 1st – 1 Debut [16]
Kenya Nairobi City Thunder Elite 16 East Division finalist 22 November 2025 2nd 2025 1 Group phase (2025) [17]
Tanzania Dar City Wild card 24 November 2025 1st – 1 Debut [5]

Group phase

The official schedule was announced on 30 January 2026.[18]

The team allocation and schedule for the group phase were announced on 26 February 2026.[19]

Kalahari Conference

The Kalahari Conference took place from 27 March to 5 April 2026 in the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.[18]

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT Qualification APR PDL AAL DAR NCT JHG
1 Rwanda RSSB Tigers 5 4 1 483 455 +28 .800 Advance to playoffs — 82–78 103–95 104–92 92–101 102–89
2 Angola Petro de Luanda 5 4 1 484 378 +106 .800 78–82 — 104–90 100–75 97–70 105–61
3 Libya Al Ahly Ly 5 3 2 520 456 +64 .600 95–103 90–104 — 118–97 107–80 110–72
4 Tanzania Dar City 5 2 3 454 477 −23 .400 92–104 75–100 97–118 — 90–85 100–70
5 Kenya Nairobi City Thunder 5 2 3 407 451 −44 .400 101–92 70–97 80–107 85–90 — 71–65
6 South Africa Johannesburg Giants (H) 5 0 5 357 488 −131 .000 89–102 61–105 72–110 70–100 65–71 —
Source: Basketball Africa League
(H) Hosts

Sahara Conference

The Sahara Conference took place from 24 April to 3 May 2026 in the Prince Moulay Abdellah Indoor Stadium in Rabat, Morocco.[18]

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT Qualification CAF AAH ASC FUS MAK JCA
1 Tunisia Club Africain 5 4 1 387 369 +18 .800 Advance to playoffs — 69–68 85–79 68–71 86–77 79–74
2 Egypt Al Ahly 5 4 1 395 357 +38 .800 68–69 — 76–72 77–71 89–80 85–65
3 Senegal ASC Ville de Dakar 5 3 2 380 364 +16 .600 79–85 72–76 — 67–66 79–62 83–75
4 Morocco FUS Rabat (H) 5 3 2 390 339 +51 .600 71–68 71–77 66–67 — 97–72 85–55
5 Nigeria Maktown Flyers 5 1 4 367 419 −52 .200 77–86 80–89 62–79 72–97 — 76–68
6 Ivory Coast JCA Kings 5 0 5 337 408 −71 .000 74–79 65–85 75–83 55–85 68–76 —
Source: Basketball Africa League
(H) Hosts

Playoffs

The playoffs were played at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

Bracket

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
           
1 Angola Petro de Luanda 82 83 165
8 Tanzania Dar City 88 69 157
1 Angola Petro de Luanda 94
5 Libya Al Ahly Ly 88
4 Tunisia Club Africain 87 80 167
5 Libya Al Ahly Ly 88 98 186
1 Angola Petro de Luanda 88
3 Rwanda RSSB Tigers 90
2 Egypt Al Ahly 90 87 177
7 Senegal ASC Ville de Dakar 93 76 169
2 Egypt Al Ahly 97 Third place game
3 Rwanda RSSB Tigers 106
3 Rwanda RSSB Tigers 95 98 193 5 Libya Al Ahly Ly 106
6 Morocco FUS Rabat 72 99 171 2 Egypt Al Ahly 98

Individual awards

The awards was announced on 31 May 2026, before or after the final.[20]

Statistics

Individual statistic leaders

Category Player Team(s) Statistic
Points per game Craig Randall II RSSB Tigers 36.1
Rebounds per game Mangok Mathiang RSSB Tigers 12.4
Assists per game Damion Baugh Al Ahly Ly 10.0
Steals per game Aminu Mohammed Club Africain 2.4
David Michineau Dar City
Blocks per game Lance Thomas Nairobi City Thunder 2.8
Minutes per game Craig Randall II RSSB Tigers 38.0
Nisre Zouzoua Dar City
Daniel Utomi
FG% Jo Lual-Acuil Al Ahly Ly 58.9%
3P% Majok Deng Al Ahly Ly 51.1%
FT% Childe Dundão Petro de Luanda 86.5%

Individual game highs

Category Player Team Statistic
Points Craig Randall II RSSB Tigers 54 (record)
Rebounds Sisco George Ngaiza Dar City 24
Assists Damion Baugh Al Ahly Ly 18 (record)
Steals Ehab Amin Al Ahly 7
Blocks Mouhamadou Diagne FUS Rabat 6
Three pointers Craig Randall II RSSB Tigers 11 (record)

Team statistic leaders

Category Team Statistic
Points per game Al Ahly Ly 100.0
Rebounds per game JCA Kings 49.6
Assists per game Al Ahly Ly 22.9
Steals per game Petro de Luanda 12.3
Blocks per game FUS Rabat 4.7
Turnovers per game Maktown Flyers 19.6
Fouls per game Nairobi City Thunder 20.8
FG% Al Ahly Ly 49.3%
FT% Nairobi City Thunder 82.1%
3P% Al Ahly Ly 37.0%
Nairobi City Thunder

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Maktown Flyers qualified while being known as the Lagos Legends, but changed their name before the start of the 2026 BAL season.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Basketball Africa League and Rwanda Development Board announce multi-year extension to play BAL games in Kigali". NBA.com: NBA Communications. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 Vicente, Adão (30 May 2025). "Petro Atlético conquista Unitel Basket". Petro de Luanda (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  3. 1 2 Boubaker, Saber (24 May 2025). "Basketball – Pro A: Club Africain Crowned Tunisian Champion for the Fifth Time After Defeating US Monastir". Tunisie. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "Competition System - FIBA Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L 2026 | FIBA Basketball". www.fiba.basketball. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Dar City Earns Wild Card Slot for 2026 Basketball Africa League After Dramatic Qualification Run". www.africabasket.net. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Sikubwabo, Damas (12 July 2025). "APR see off REG in Game 5, win record 16th championship". The New Times. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "Treasury Sanctions Rwanda Officials, Condemns Blatant Violations of Washington Peace Accords". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  8. ↑ Ndushabandi, Claver (14 March 2026). "Rwanda Army-Linked Team APR Exits Basketball Africa League After U.S. Sanctions". ChimpReports. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  9. 1 2 Sikubwabo, Damas (12 March 2026). "RSSB Tigers replace APR at BAL 2026". The New Times. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "الأهلي بطلا لدوري سوبر السلة | كووورة" [Al Ahly crowned champions of the Basketball Super League]. www.kooora.com (in Arabic). 1 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "Championne du Sénégal, l'ASC Ville de Dakar qualifiée pour la BAL 6". Sport News Africa (in French). Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Maktown Sports, Owners of Maktown Flyers Basketball Club Has Fully Taken Over Ownership Of Lagos Legends Basketball Club". Lagos Legends on Facebook. 30 August 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Lagos Legends are the 2025 Nigerial League champions". www.fiba.basketball. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "Al Ahly Benghazi secure second BAL ticket with dominant performance over Tombouctou". www.fiba.basketball. 15 November 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  15. ↑ "Jeuness Club d'Abidjan becomes second Ivorian team to qualify for the BAL". www.fiba.basketball. 16 November 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "Sibanyoni's incredible block sends the Johannesburg Giants to the 2026 BAL". www.fiba.basketball. 22 November 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  17. ↑ "Nairobi City Thunder crash Beira to clinch final BAL slot". www.fiba.basketball. 22 November 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  18. 1 2 3 "BAL Season 6: South Africa to Morocco to Rwanda". The BAL. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  19. ↑ "BAL Season 6: Meet the 12 Teams Competing Across Two Conferences". The BAL. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Henry Mwinuka is the 2026 BAL Coach of the Year". The BAL. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 "MVP Randall leads 2026 All-BAL First Team". The BAL. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Breaking down Craig Randall II's historic BAL season". The BAL. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Mangok Mathiang wins the 2026 BAL Defensive Player of the Year award". The BAL. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Mohamed Sadi wins the 2026 BAL Sportsmanship Player of the Year award". The BAL. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  25. 1 2 "Dundao, Mathiang headline the 2026 All-BAL Defensive First Team". The BAL. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
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