TRIPOLI (Libya) - To describe everything that Al Ahli Tripoli achieved over the last eleven months as 'history makers' would be an understatement.
From dominating the Road to BAL qualifiers, to winning the 2025 BAL title and finishing third in the 2025 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, debutant Al Ahli Tripoli has cemented its place in the history books of international basketball.
Over the last eleven months, the Libyan giants have hit the transfer market countless times.
They have signed new players, recalled players who previously featured for the team, and switched their coaching staff. Ultimately, however, they can only describe their run as successful.
Along the way, Al Ahli Tripoli shocked higher-ranked teams on the continent and upset the 2025 FIBA Americas and Asia champions.
It all started in October 2024, when Al Ahli Tripoli hosted the group phase of the West Division of the Road to BAL qualifiers, defeating Cape Verde's Kriol Stars and Stade Malien of Mali in the process.
The following month, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Al Ahli Tripoli signed Walter Hodge, the inaugural Basketball Africa League MVP. They also brought in Kelvin Amayo and the high-scoring Kevin Murphy to help secure their place in the BAL.
Despite being forced into extra time, Al Ahli Tripoli defeated Cameroon's Kadji Sports Academy 96–91. A 80-76 semifinal win over ABC Fighters secured them a place in the 2025 BAL season.
They eventually defeated Stade Malien 71–68 in the final, completing an undefeated run through the Road to BAL qualifiers.
Several well-known players on the continent, including Ivan Almeida, Michael Eric and Deng Deng, played for Al Ahli Tripoli during their gruelling Road to BAL campaign.
However, the core of local players, led by Mohamed Sadi, Nasseim Badrush and Wajdi Dawo, also played a pivotal role in their successful season.
When the team's dynamic seemed to be working perfectly, they added the Egyptian Assem Marei at the start of the 2025 BAL Nile Conference in Kigali, Rwanda.
At that stage, Al Ahli Tripoli were in top form, winning all six of their games and scoring the highest number of points in a game by demolishing Nairobi City Thunder 115–87.
Al Ahli Tripoli reached the 2025 BAL playoffs as one of two undefeated teams, alongside Al Ittihad Alexandria.
They arrived in Pretoria, South Africa, for the 2025 BAL Playoffs, with Fabian White Jr. replacing Deon Thompson.
Against the odds, Al Ahli Tripoli recorded their first loss of the 2025 BAL season, losing 87-74 to Al Ittihad Alexandria in the seeding round of the playoffs.
Two consecutive victories were all they needed before stunning the defending champions, Petro de Luanda, 88–67 in the final, thereby becoming the first team to reach the BAL season via the Road to BAL qualifiers to win the BAL title.
To complete their successful season, Al Ahli Tripoli travelled to Singapore with a relatively new roster, with Munir Elkerdany replacing the 2025 BAL Coach of the Year, Fouad Abou Chakra. 2025 BAL MVP Jean-Jacques Boissy was joined by Ivan Almeida who played for the Libyan champions in the first round of the Road to BAL.
Puerto Rican Ismael Romero, Makur Maker and Marcos Knight bolstered a roster that retained more than half of the players from the team that won the 2025 BAL trophy.
In Singapore, the Libyan and African champions started their world campaign on the losing end after losing to the eventual Intercontinental champions, Unicaja of Spain.
However, they bounced back with two consecutive victories, beating the FIBA Champions League Asia champions, Utsunomiya (Japan), 87–78, before stunning the FIBA Champions League Americas champions, Flamengo, 91–82, in the third-place play-off.
Over the last eleven months of their international duties, Al Ahli Tripoli defeated Kriol Star (Cape Verde) twice, as well as State Malien (Mali), MBB (South Africa), Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya) and APR (Rwanda). Other teams that lost to the Libyan champions were: Mighty Barrolle (Liberia), Spintex Knights (Ghana), Kadji Sports Academy (Cameroon), ABC Fighters (Côte d'Ivoire), Petro de Luanda (Angola), Utsunomiya (Japan), and Flamengo (Brazil). The only teams to beat Al Ahli Tripoli were Spain's Unicaja and Egypt's Al Ittihad Alexandria.
Ultimately, Al Ahli Tripoli concluded the competition with an overall record of 18–2.
FIBA