14/05/2021
Julio Chitunda's African Message
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Revisit the early days of the Basketball Africa League

LEEDS (Julio Chitunda's African Message) - Built on the foundation of the FIBA Africa Champions (ACC), the Basketball Africa League (BAL) is real, it is here to stay.

The first edition of the BAL, scheduled to get underway Sunday, May 16th in Kigali, means a new chapter in the history of Africa clubs' competition.

A partnership between FIBA and the NBA, the BAL comes as a new brand of basketball on the continent.

 

With 12 teams taking part in the its inaugural season, the BAL will enter the history books as the first NBA-affiliated competition held outside the North America.

And, the clash between hosts Patriots Basketball Club and Rivers Hoopers will become the first-ever BAL game.

Nevertheless, the BAL has come a long way to become the competition it is now. From a week-long event in the FIBA ACC era, the BAL has expanded its competition system to a more comprehensive event.

And, unlike the ACC, future BAL regular-seasons games are expected to be played across five pre-determined African cities.

Against all the odds, the inaugural BAL season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, and, as a result, the Kigali Arena was selected to host the full tournament, which concludes on May 30th. 

 

A visit to the history books, and it shows the evolution from the FIBA ACC to the BAL. 

The FIBA ACC was first played in the Central African Republic capital of Bangui in 1971 with four participating teams, including hosts Red Stars, Mali's Stade Malien, Zamalek of Egypt and ASFA from Senegal. 

The home team clinched  their first of two ACC titles in the first ACC edition, before lifting the trophy for the second time five years later in Bangui.

For the first 33 years of its existence, the FIBA ACC was mostly a biennial competition, however, starting in 2004, in Cairo, the tournament became an annual event, with a dozen of African cities hosting the ACC along the way.

Over the last 17 years, Cairo, Abidjan, Lagos, Luanda, Sousse, Kigali, Cotonou, Sale, Malabo and Tunis saw more than forty African clubs fighting for the top prize of the FIBA ACC.

Etoile Sportive Sahel upset D'Agosto in the final of the 2011 FIBA ACC

However, it was Angolan side Primeiro D'Agosto who finished second in their ACC debut in Alexandria in 1987 that would end up as Africa's most successful club winning a record nine FIBA ACC titles. 

Senegal's ASFA comes second with three ACC titles while Angolan outfit Petro de Luanda enriched their trophy cabinet with two continental titles. 

In the process, the FIBA ACC has witnessed an incredible list of talented players over the years.

Before embarking on a professional career in Spain and the USA, where he was drafted in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics, NBA champion Serge Ibaka left his fingerprints in the ACC when he led his Congolese team InterClub to a fourth-place finish in Lagos, Nigeria.

Two years ago, FIBA remodelled the ACC with the launching of the Africa Basket League (ABL) where  16 teams battled it out for a place in the Final-Four in Luanda, where D'Agosto clinched their last continental title after beating Morocco's AS Sale.

And so, the BAL was born.

Julio Chitunda
FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.

Julio Chitunda

Julio Chitunda

Julio Chitunda, a University of Sheffield alumni and former semi-professional player, has worked for a number of Portuguese media outlets as well as The Press Association and covered international basketball for over a decade. Through his column, he offers an insight into basketball on the world's second biggest continent.