YAOUNDE (Cameroon) - Forces Armees et Police (FAP) have become a force to be reckoned with in African basketball landscape mainly for their recent achievement in the Basketball Africa League (BAL).

And the upcoming Elite 16 Round for the BAL is just another challenge they can't wait to get involved in.  

From November 14 to 19, FAP, who have been drawn in Group B o f the Elite 16 alongside Seydou Legacy Athletique Club (Guinea), Stade Malien Bamako (Mali), and Nueva Era (Equatorial Guinea), will try to secure one of the three places available for West Division teams for the BAL season three. 

But before FAP's Elite 16 round gets underway, here are things that you need to know about them. 

TEAM: Forces Armees et Police (FAP). As the name suggests, the Yaounde-based club is sponsored by Cameroon's Nacional Army.

HISTORY IN FIBA AFRICA/BAL: FAP haven't missed a season of the BAL since its inception in 2021. On both occasions FAP qualified to the BAL after passing the last two editions of the Elite 16 with high grades. 

After reaching the Quarter-Finals in the inaugural season of the BAL, FAP went a step further in season two after stunning hosts Rwanda Energy Group in the Quarter-Finals in front an almost sellout BK Arena in Kigali in May. Eventually, FAP fell short to Petro de Luanda in the Semi-Finals.  

BEST RESULT IN FIBA AFRICA/BAL: By reaching the BAL semis, FAP recorded their best result in the history of the competition.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED FOR THE ELITE 16: FAP outclassed BEAC, Ecole Basket Douala, and Le Nkam in the 2022 Cameroon Championship's Final-Four to be crowned national champions, a title that ensured them a place in the Road to BAL Qualifiers.

STRENGTH/WEAKNESS: FAP's strongest asset is definitely the team's cohesion and the solid group of players who have played together for the past couple of years. 

On the other hand, FAP's inconsistency is something that would keep any coach sleepless at night. 

KEY PLAYER(s): Brice Bidias, Cedric Tsangue, Cyrille-Lialle, Louis Ngaransou, and Ettiene Tametong represent the bedrock of FAP. Tametong, for instance, is headed to Abidjan as the MVP of the last edition of Cameroon National Championsip.

 Etienne Tametong 

One way or another, these five players have contributed to FAP's success at national and international level.

Sources told the FIBA.basketball, two foreign players are expected to join FAP in Abidjan before the start of the Elite 16 round.  

HEAD COACH: Francois Enegueye started his BAL journey as FAP's assistant coach in the inaugural season of the BAL. A year later he was promoted to the head coach position, and inspired his team to the BAL semis, the highest result of a Cameroonian club in a continental competition.

Enegueye is often described as a student of the game, and his experience with Milwaukee Bucks during the latest NBA Summer League mirrored his intentions of higher heights. 

OUTLOOK: To put FAP's potential and rise into perspective, let's look how they became two-time BAL participants. FAP have become the only team that played in the Road to BAL to have reached the Semi-Finals of the Basketball Africa League.

FAP have shown a tremendous fearless spirit against higher-ranked teams in recent times. However, in order to secure a third straight BAL appearance they must play consistent basketball for most of the regulation. 

And although they emerge as the strongest team in Group B, they need to show their superiority on the basketball.

FIBA