Sunday night, May 16, will be historic for African basketball. The continent, full of talent and stars with an international dimension, will debut this new concept, The BAL - Basketball Africa League, a joint effort between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA. This is a competition of the highest level in Africa and will be affiliated with the NBA.
For the first season, composed of 12 teams, qualified between October and December 2019, there is the club Atlético Petróleos de Luanda (Petro), champion in 2019, who qualified directly for the competition.
A statement sent to VerAngola states that this is "a great sign for all coaches looking to share their skills and experiences with all Africans".
For Cheikh Sarr, coach of the national team of Rwanda, the continent has to rely on its human capital: "We have a lot of talent, competence and know-how, and when we have competitions with this dimension and visibility and mainly associated with one of the biggest basketball competitions in the world, the NBA, we have an obligation to do our best, and commit ourselves 100%, to go beyond our limits and surpass ourselves in every game ".
Initially scheduled for 2020, the competition had to be rescheduled for this year, due to the covid-19 pandemic.
All matches will be held in Kigali, capital of Rwanda and will be broadcast live on ESPN channel, position 618, on DStv.
