BAL: South Africa’s ‘Made By Basketball’ Secures Second Win; Al Ahli Tripoli from Libya Moves to Playoffs
Kigali – Al Ahli Tripoli (Libya) achieved a 104-91 win against Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya) last night at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda. This victory marks their fourth straight win in the Nile Conference and secures their place in the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Playoffs (https://BAL.NBA.com/).
Alongside Al Ahli, the BAL Playoffs will feature Al Ittihad (Egypt), Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria), US Monastir (Tunisia)—the champions from 2022—defending champions Petro de Luanda (Angola), and Kriol Star (Cape Verde). The playoffs are set to begin at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa on June 6, 2023.
Tickets for the 2025 BAL Playoffs are available at www.Ticketmaster.co.za.
Leading the charge for Al Ahli, former NBA Academy Africa standout Jean Jacques Boissy (Senegal) netted 26 points, while Mohamed Abdourahman (Libya) added 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
For Thunder, Uchenna Iroegbu (U.S./Nigeria) was the top scorer with 23 points, followed closely by Eugene Adera (Kenya), who contributed nine points, 12 rebounds, and four assists.
In another game from last night, Made By Basketball (South Africa) defeated the local team APR (Rwanda) with a score of 94-88, marking their second consecutive victory in the tournament.
Jovan Mooring (U.S.) led Made By Basketball with 29 points, along with eight rebounds and five assists. Teafale Lenard Jr. (U.S.) added 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while Pieter Prinsloo (South Africa) contributed 13 points and seven rebounds.
David Craig (South Africa), a center from Tennessee Tech, played over 24 minutes, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks, helping the South African squad achieve a shooting accuracy of 51 percent.
Obadiah Noel (U.S.) topped the scoring for APR with 23 points, while Youssoupha Ndoye (Senegal) added 19 points and 10 rebounds. However, APR faced challenges in their offense later in the game, shooting just 37 percent from the field.
Despite the defeat, APR remains in second place in the Nile Conference, aiming to bounce back this weekend after two consecutive losses.
The Nile Conference action continues on Saturday, featuring MBB (2-2) against Nairobi City Thunder (0-4) and Al Ahli Tripoli (4-0) going head-to-head with APR (2-2).
Post-game press conferences:
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
NILE CONFERENCE STANDINGS
- Al Ahli Tripoli* – 4-0
- APR – 2-2
- MBB – 2-2
- Nairobi City Thunder – 0-4
*Advances to the 2025 BAL Playoffs
