CAIRO - Over 30 players from 13 national teams starred in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Nile Conference this month in Cairo, Egypt, but some set themselves apart.

All six teams competing in the Nile had at least two national team players. Petro de Luanda had eight Angolan national players and one Cape Verdean.

Zamalek had four Egypt national team players, one Nigerian, one Cameroonian and one Dominican Republic international player.

From well-established names to newcomers, the Nile Conference was a true showpiece of talented players.

Manyan Kiir, for instance, has been pre-selected by South Sudan before, and although he is yet to shine in the big stage, he left his game do the talk in Cairo.

Kiir reminded everyone why he could be a valuable option for high-flying South Sudan in the upcoming Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers in July. 

Although Cobra Sports fell short off the BAL playoffs places, the 24-year-old was a joy to watch.

Aggressive and efficient on both ends of the floor, the 2.06m (6-foot-9) forward contributed team-highs 18.8 points and 11.4 rebounds in 29 minutes per game. 

Evans Ganapamo has built his name on the African continent while donning the Central African Republic jersey.

And when South Africa champions Cape Town Tigers needed him most, he delivered it.

The Tigers's second leading scorer and rebounder after Billy Preston, who sat out Cape Town's opening game, Ganapamo contributed valuable 17.4 points per game.

But it was his game-winner three-pointer with two seconds left against FAP that relaunched Cape Town's BAL journey.

The Tigers advanced to the BAL knock-put stages after finishing third in the Nile Conference.

Carlos Morais is a household name in African basketball scene, and he lived up to expectations.

Morais played a major role in helping Petro de Luanda finish second in the Nile with a 4-1 record.

And, the man who featured for the Toronto Raptors in the 2013-14 NBA pre-season, led Petro de Luanda in scoring with 12.2 points in 28 minutes per game.

Undoubtedly one of Egypt's most influential player in recent times, Anas Mahmoud was huge for Zamalek in the Nile Conference.

The seven-footer, the only Zamalek player to average double-doubles, contributed 10.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in 28 minutes per game.

Mahmoud, who won the Dikembe Mutombo BAL Defensive Player of the year last season, registered an incredible 71 percent field-goal. 

Rolly Fula might not be the most popular name among DR Congo's basketball stars, but his display in Cairo spoke volumes about his talent.

And although his Espoir Fukash registered their only win in the last day on the competition and, as a result, were eliminated from the BAL playoffs contention, Fula was one of the stars of the 2022 Nile Conference.

The 29-year-old shooting averaged 18 points in 32.5 minutes per game. 

FAP's shooting guard, Joel Almeida, a Cape Verde international player, shone for most his five games, averaging a team-high of 13.6 points per game.

Edgar Sosa, who has featured for the Dominican Republic national team on a number of occasions, was one of the few non-African players in the six-team Nile Conference. And the shooting guard left his mark in the tournament by sparking Zamalek to a 5-0 mark.

Sosa, who was subject to a standing ovation in his last Zamalek's last outing against FAP, led the African giants with team-highs of 19.5 points in 28.7 minutes per game.

FIBA