The 2024 BAL Sahara Conference was the 3rd season of the Sahara Conference, one of the three conferences of the 2024 season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The composition of the conference and the schedule were announced on 15 February 2024.[1] The conference games began on 4 May and ended on 12 May 2024.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Senegal |
| City | Dakar |
| Venue(s) | Dakar Arena |
| Dates | 4–12 May 2024 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Rivers Hoopers (1st title) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top scorer | Obadiah Noel, APR (19.4 points per game) |
Summary
editDespite being considered the weakest team, the Rivers Hoopers came out with three straight wins. The Hoopers were the first team to clinch a playoffs spot on the fifth gameday.[2] US Monastir, the 2022 BAL champions, lost their first three games. They became the first former BAL champions to lose four games in a row, dating back to the previous season.[3] The game between APR and Rivers Hoopers on May 11 was the first double-overtime game in BAL history.[2] On May 9, Mike Fofana scored a buzzer-beater game winner to give AS Douanes the win over Rivers Hoopers.[4]
Coming into the final game day on May 12, the last two games decided the last two playoffs spots.[5] On the last gameday, US Monastir qualified after finishing with a 3–3 record. AS Douanes and APR battled for the last playoffs spot, with the winner advancing, and AS Douanes eventually secured its spot.[6]
Standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rivers Hoopers
|
6 | 4 | 2 | 441 | 413 | +28 | .667 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 |  AS Douanes
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 409 | 385 | +24 | .500[a] | |
| 3 |  US Monastir
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 437 | 450 | −13 | .500[a] | |
| 4 |  APR
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 432 | 471 | −39 | .333 |
Games
editMay 4, 2024
2:30 PM |
| US Monastir |
84–89 (OT) | APR |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 20–19, 15–13, 23–26, Overtime: 6–11 | ||
| Pts: Crawford 21 Rebs: Lahyani, Majok 9 Asts: Crawford 7 |
Pts: Filer, Noel 24 Rebs: Abdullah 9 Asts: Filer 4 | |
May 4, 2024
5:30 PM |
| AS Douanes |
68–77 | Rivers Hoopers |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 16–19, 9–19, 20–21 | ||
| Pts: Akec 19 Rebs: Obekpa 14 Asts: Boissy 4 |
Pts: Eke 31 Rebs: Eke 12 Asts: Amayo 8 | |
May 5, 2024
2:30 PM |
| APR |
82–86 | Rivers Hoopers |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–19, 22–21, 22–23, 20–23 | ||
| Pts: Noel 32 Rebs: Noel 7 Asts: Filer, Robeyns 4 |
Pts: Perry 31 Rebs: Eke, Ike 8 Asts: Amayo 7 | |
May 5, 2024
5:30 PM |
| AS Douanes |
76–59 | US Monastir |
| Scoring by quarter: 12–17, 20–14, 14–15, 30–15 | ||
| Pts: Harouna 35 Rebs: Akec 9 Asts: Boissy 8 |
Pts: Williams 16 Rebs: Majok 13 Asts: Crawford 5 | |
Dakar Arena, Dakar
Attendance: 4,578 Referees: Cameron Gelinas, Walelign Fikadu Gebeto, Natascha Onono |
May 7, 2024
4:00 PM |
| US Monastir |
63–84 | Rivers Hoopers |
| Scoring by quarter: 13–24, 16–25, 22–18, 12–17 | ||
| Pts: Doucouré 21 Rebs: Crawford 7 Asts: Crawford 14 |
Pts: Amayo 30 Rebs: Eke 12 Asts: Amayo, Perry 9 | |
May 7, 2024
7:00 PM |
| APR |
66–61 | AS Douanes |
| Scoring by quarter: 11–17, 16–9, 19–16, 20–19 | ||
| Pts: Noel 24 Rebs: Noel 8 Asts: Filer, Robeyns 3 |
Pts: Boissy 14 Rebs: Boissy, Fofana 6 Asts: Boissy 11 | |
May 9, 2024
4:00 PM |
| APR |
70–83 | US Monastir |
| Scoring by quarter: 22–19, 15–17, 17–14, 16–33 | ||
| Pts: Hunt 17 Rebs: Filer 11 Asts: Noel 5 |
Pts: Crawford 31 Rebs: Majok 10 Asts: Crawford 5 | |
Dakar Arena, Dakar
Attendance: 2,330 Referees: Cameron Gelinas, Kingsley Ojeaburu, Kalume Tonton Banza |
May 9, 2024
7:00 PM |
| Rivers Hoopers |
54–56 | AS Douanes |
| Scoring by quarter: 5–14, 21–19, 15–7, 13–16 | ||
| Pts: Perry 17 Rebs: Olisemeka 18 Asts: Perry 5 |
Pts: Akec 17 Rebs: Thomas 9 Asts: Boissy 4 | |
May 11, 2024
2:30 PM |
| Rivers Hoopers |
78–71 (2OT) | APR |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–19, 15–11, 10–20, 17–8, Overtime: 17–8, 20–3 | ||
| Pts: Eke 18 Rebs: Eke 20 Asts: Perry 6 |
Pts: Nshobozwabyosenumukiza 16 Rebs: Hunt 14 Asts: Hunt 7 | |
May 11, 2024
5:30 PM |
| US Monastir |
75–69 | AS Douanes |
| Scoring by quarter: 17–15, 31–20, 10–15, 17–19 | ||
| Pts: Crawford 16 Rebs: Lahyani 10 Asts: Crawford 6 |
Pts: Harouna 22 Rebs: Akec 7 Asts: Fofana 2 | |
May 12, 2024
2:30 PM |
| Rivers Hoopers |
62–73 | US Monastir |
| Scoring by quarter: 13–19, 20–19, 9–18, 20–17 | ||
| Pts: Eke 13 Rebs: Olisemeka 10 Asts: Amayo 7 |
Pts: Crawford 21 Rebs: Majok 16 Asts: Crawford 9 | |
Dakar Arena, Dakar
Attendance: 2,604 Referees: Kenny Jones, Kalume Tonton Banza, Walelign Fikadu Gebeto |
Player statistics
edit| Category | Player | Team(s) | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Obadiah Noel | APR | 19.4 |
| Rebounds per game | Devine Eke | Rivers Hoopers | 11.7 |
| Assists per game | Chris Crawford | 8.5 | |
| Steals per game | Abdoulaye Harouna | AS Douanes | 3.8 |
| Blocks per game | Ater Majok | US Monastir | 1.5 |
References
edit- ^ "Five New Teams, Three New Countries to Compete in 2024 BAL season Tipping Off on March 9th in South Africa". The BAL. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Rivers Hoopers clinch playoffs spot in first BAL double-overtime game". The BAL. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Can US Monastir make the biggest comeback in BAL history?". The BAL. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Fofana calls game-winning shot the best of his career". The BAL. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Who will clinch the last two tickets for the 2024 BAL Playoffs?". The BAL. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "AS Douanes punch last playoffs ticket in front of a rowdy home crowd". The BAL. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "Statistics". The BAL. Retrieved 12 May 2024.