The qualification tournaments for the 2022 BAL season, also known as the Road to BAL 2022, were the qualification rounds for the second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The tournaments began on 19 October 2021 and ended 16 December 2021. Similar to the first season, the competition consisted out of two stages: the first round and the elite 16.[1] Six teams advanced to the group phase of the BAL.
| 2022 BAL qualification (Road to BAL 2022) | |
|---|---|
| Association | FIBA Africa |
| League | Road to BAL |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | 19 October – 16 December 2021 |
| Number of games | 40 |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| West Division | |
| Division champions |  FAP |
| Top scorer | Rolly Fula Nganga (Espoir) |
| East Division | |
| Division champions |  Ferroviário da Beira |
| Top scorer | Ismael Nurmamade (Ferroviário) |
Teams edit
On 13 October 2021, FIBA announced the 26 teams from 26 countries which participate in the qualification round.[1]
- 1st, 2nd, etc.: ranking in national leagues
- CW: Cup winner
| First round | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| West Division | East Division | ||
 ASPAC (1st)
|
 SOA (1st)
|
 New Star (1st)
|
 City Oilers (1st)
|
 Espoir Fukash (1st)[Note COD]
|
 SLAC (1st)
|
 Kurasini Heat (1st)
|
 Cobra Sport (1st)
|
 AS Police (1st)
|
 Tondema (1st)
|
 Roche-Bois Warriors (1st)
|
 Matero Magic (1st)
|
| FAP (1st)
|
 Nigelec
|
 Brave Hearts (1st)
|
 Cape Town Tigers (1st)
|
 Ulinzi Warriors (1st)
|
Ferroviário da Beira (1st)
| ||
- Notes
- ^ DR Congo (COD): In FIBA's team list of 13 October 2020 national champions ASB Mazembe was announced to be the Congolese representative. However, the Fédération de basketball du Congo (FEBACO) eventually decided to enter 2021 champions Espoir Fukash.[2]
- ^ Zimbabwe (ZIM): The representative team from Zimbabwe, Mercenaries pulled out before its games in Group F started.[3]
Withdrawing teams edit
Six teams were drawn in a group for the first round, but withdrew prior to the start of the games.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 WA Boufarik
|
 AOA
|
 ASCUT
|
 Mercenaries[Note ZIM]
|
First round edit
The first two teams of each group advance to the elite 16 and two wild cards were given to teams from each division.
West Division edit
Group A edit
Initially, four teams were drawn in Group A, which was played in Conakry, Guinea. However, Prédio and WA Boufarik failed to travel to Conakry.[4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AS Police
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 173 | 167 | +6 | 3 | Advance to Elite 16 |
| 2 | SLAC (H)
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 167 | 173 | −6 | 3 | |
| 3 |  Prédio (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
| 4 | WA Boufarik (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 October 2021 | |||||
| SLAC |
95–93 | AS Police |
|||
| 31 October 2021 | |||||
| AS Police |
80–72 | SLAC |
Group B edit
Venue: Conakry, Guinea
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SOA
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 124 | 91 | +33 | 4 | Advance to Elite 16 |
| 2 | Nigelec
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 116 | 99 | +17 | 3 | |
| 3 | ASPAC (W)
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 75 | 125 | −50 | 2 | |
| 4 | AOA (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
| 29 October 2021 | |||||
| SOA |
64–51 | Nigelec |
|||
| 30 October 2021 | |||||
| ASPAC |
40–60 | SOA |
|||
| 31 October 2021 | |||||
| Nigelec |
65–35 | ASPAC |
Group C edit
Group C was hosted in Yaoundé, Cameroon. FAP, who play in the 2021 regular season, returned while Tondema and Espoir Fukash made their debuts in the competition. Malabo Kings forfeited the last day.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FAP (H)
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 166 | 122 | +44 | 4 | Advance to Elite 16 |
| 2 | Espoir Fukash
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 167 | 133 | +34 | 3 | |
| 3 | Tondema
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 106 | 184 | −78 | 2 | |
| 4 |  Malabo Kings (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Forfeited |
| 29 October 2021 | |||||
| FAP |
82–57 | Tondema |
|||
| 30 October 2021 | |||||
| Tondema |
49–102 | Espoir Fukash |
|||
| 31 October 2021 | |||||
| FAP |
84–65 | Espoir Fukash |
East Division edit
Because Hawassa City and ASCUT of Group D withdrew, the groups were divided again. New Star was moved to Group D.
Group D edit
Venue: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Star
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 147 | 120 | +27 | 4 | Advance to Elite 16 |
| 2 | Ulinzi Warriors
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 127 | 127 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Cobra Sport (W)
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 93 | 120 | −27 | 2 | |
| 4 |  Hawassa City (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
| 5 | ASCUT (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 October 2021 | |||||
| New Star |
67–46 | Cobra Sport |
|||
| 30 October 2021 | |||||
| Ulinzi Warriors |
72–80 | New Star |
|||
| 31 October 2021 | |||||
| Cobra Sport |
47–53 | Ulinzi Warriors |
Group E edit
All times are GMT+3.
Venue: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City Oilers
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 143 | 92 | +51 | 4 | Advance to Elite 16 |
| 2 | Kurasini Heat (H)
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 103 | 97 | +6 | 3 | |
| 3 | Brave Hearts
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 127 | −57 | 2 |
29 October 2021
20:00 |
| Brave Hearts |
27–54 | Kurasini Heat |
| Scoring by quarter: 7-13, 8-10, 4-14, 8-17 | ||
| Pts: Chizah 9 Rebs: Kadiwa 6 Asts: Limbe, Vernon 2 |
Pts: Lugora 16 Rebs: Basco 9 Asts: Musongole 5 | |
Benjamin Mkapa Indoor Court, Dar es Salaam
Referees: Cherubin Leslie (MRI), Antonio Bernardo (ANG), Monicca Nassuuna (UGA) |
29 October 2021
20:00 |
| City Oilers |
73–43 | Brave Hearts |
| Scoring by quarter: 19-10, 16-14, 19-7, 19-12 | ||
| Pts: Balwigaire Jr. 14 Rebs: Okello 12 Asts: Three players 4 |
Pts: Mwambene 17 Rebs: Kadiwa, Mwambene 8 Asts: Nhira 3 | |
Benjamin Mkapa Indoor Court, Dar es Salaam
Referees: Jean Sauveur Ruhamiriza (RWA), Shabani Mohamed Shabani (TUN), Erick Otieno (KEN) |
29 October 2021
20:00 |
| Kurasini Heat |
49–70 | City Oilers |
| Scoring by quarter: 7-11, 17-19, 11-19, 14-21 | ||
Benjamin Mkapa Indoor Court, Dar es Salaam
Referees: Walelign Gebeto (ETH), Tonton Banza Kalume (DRC), Erick Otieno (KEN) |
Group F edit
The venue of Group F was the Inzibio Hall in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. Five teams were placed in this group, however, Mercenaries pulled out before the start.[3] The Cape Town Tigers and Roche-Bois Warriors made their debut in the international level.[5] The Group featured two former NBA players in Ben Uzoh and Billy Preston, who both played with Cape Town.[6]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town Tigers (H)
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 285 | 211 | +74 | 6 | Advance to Elite 16 |
| 2 | Ferroviário da Beira
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 298 | 173 | +125 | 5 | |
| 3 | Matero Magic (W)
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 223 | 207 | +16 | 4 | |
| 4 | Roche-Bois Warriors
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 128 | 343 | −215 | 3 | |
| 5 | Mercenaries (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
| 21 October 2021 | |||||
| Cape Town Tigers |
81–51 | Matero Magic |
|||
| Ferroviário da Beira |
116–49 | Roche-Bois Warriors |
|||
| 22 October 2021 | |||||
| Roche-Bois Warriors |
36–132 | Ferroviário da Beira |
|||
| Matero Magic |
77–83 | Cape Town Tigers |
|||
| 23 October 2021 | |||||
| Matero Magic |
95–43 | Roche-Bois Warriors |
|||
| Cape Town Tigers |
86–85 | Ferroviário da Beira |
Elite 16 edit
In the elite 16, two groups of eight teams were created consisting of the top two teams and wild cards of the first round. AS Salé, as the national champions of Morocco, directly enters this stage. Competition began on 2 December 2021 (Division East) in Johannesburg and 11 December 2021 (Division West) in Yaounde. The top three teams from each group advance to the 2022 BAL season.[7]
On 20 November 2021, the draw was held in Abidjan.[8] On 11 December, FIBA announced ASPAC had withdrawn and AS Salé was not available.[9]
Division West edit
Group G1 edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FAP
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 157 | 130 | +27 | 4 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 2 | AS Police
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 151 | 144 | +7 | 3 | |
| 3 | SOA
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 134 | 168 | −34 | 2 | |
| 4 | ASPAC (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
| 11 December 2021 | |||||
| SOA |
64–83 | FAP |
|||
| 12 December 2021 | |||||
| AS Police |
85–70 | SOA |
|||
| 13 December 2021 | |||||
| FAP |
74–66 | AS Police |
Group G2 edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLAC
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 171 | 158 | +13 | 3[a] | Advance to semi-finals |
| 2 | Espoir Fukash
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 195 | 193 | +2 | 3[a] | |
| 3 | Nigelec
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 158 | 173 | −15 | 3[a] | |
| 4 |  AS Salé (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
| 11 December 2021 | |||||
| Nigelec |
104–91 | Espoir Fukash |
|||
| 12 December 2021 | |||||
| Espoir Fukash |
104–89 | SLAC |
|||
| 13 December 2021 | |||||
| SLAC |
82–54 | Nigelec |
Final stage edit
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 15 December | ||||||
| FAP | 70 | |||||
| 16 December | ||||||
| Espoir Fukash | 56 | |||||
| FAP | 81 | |||||
| 15 December | ||||||
| SLAC | 34 | |||||
| SLAC (OT) | 81 | |||||
| AS Police | 78 | |||||
| Third place game | ||||||
| 16 December | ||||||
| Espoir Fukash (OT) | 93 | |||||
| AS Police | 87 | |||||
Semi-finals edit
15 December 2021
15:00 |
| SLAC |
81–78 (OT) | AS Police |
| Scoring by quarter: 13–15, 25–11, 18–20, 14–24, Overtime: 11–8 | ||
| Pts: Miller Jr. 26 Rebs: Miller Jr. 10 Asts: Miller Jr. 6 |
Pts: Konaté 24 Rebs: Diarouma 17 Asts: Kanouté 4 | |
15 December 2021
18:00 |
| FAP |
70–56 | Espoir Fukash |
| Scoring by quarter: 19–12, 21–11, 11–19, 19–14 | ||
| Pts: Lyle 17 Rebs: Ngaransou 10 Asts: Essome, Liale 3 |
Pts: Kapongo Kabuya 14 Rebs: Fula Nganga 9 Asts: Mwana Mwamba 3 | |
Third place game edit
16 December 2021
15:00 |
| Espoir Fukash |
93–87 (OT) | AS Police |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–22, 24–17, 14–22, 20–17, Overtime: 15–9 | ||
| Pts: Fula Nganga 29 Rebs: Mutomb Mbav 16 Asts: Mwana Mwamba 8 |
Pts: Kanouté 20 Rebs: Diarouma 21 Asts: Banza Kasongo 5 | |
Final edit
16 December 2021
18:00 |
| FAP |
81–34 | SLAC |
| Scoring by quarter: 21–8, 22–5, 21–15, 17–6 | ||
| Pts: Almeida 19 Rebs: Ngaransou 12 Asts: Liale 4 |
Pts: Poole 9 Rebs: Miller Jr. 11 Asts: Fofana 2 | |
Division East edit
The Division East games were played from 6 December until 11 December at the Wembley Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Group H1 edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Star
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 161 | 141 | +20 | 4 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 2 | Cape Town Tigers
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 150 | 146 | +4 | 3 | |
| 3 | Matero Magic
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 133 | 157 | −24 | 2 | |
| 4 | Kurasini Heat (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
| 6 December 2021 | |||||
| New Star |
83–71 | Cape Town Tigers |
|||
| 7 December 2021 | |||||
| Matero Magic |
70–78 | New Star |
|||
| 8 December 2021 | |||||
| Cape Town Tigers |
79–63 | Matero Magic |
Group H2 edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferroviário da Beira
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 157 | 105 | +52 | 4 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 2 | Cobra Sport
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 123 | 143 | −20 | 3 | |
| 3 | Ulinzi Warriors
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 126 | 158 | −32 | 2 | |
| 4 | City Oilers (D)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew[a] |
| 6 December 2021 | |||||
| Ferroviário da Beira |
76–46 | Cobra Sport |
|||
| 7 December 2021 | |||||
| Cobra Sport |
77–67 | Ulinzi Warriors |
|||
| 8 December 2021 | |||||
| Ferroviário da Beira |
81–59 | Ulinzi Warriors |
Final stage edit
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 10 December | ||||||
| New Star | 76 | |||||
| 11 December | ||||||
| Cobra Sport | 78 | |||||
| Cobra Sport | 65 | |||||
| 10 December | ||||||
| Ferroviário da Beira | 91 | |||||
| Ferroviário da Beira | 77 | |||||
| Cape Town Tigers | 75 | |||||
| Third place game | ||||||
| 11 December | ||||||
| New Star | 0 | |||||
| Cape Town Tigers | 20 | |||||
Semi-finals edit
10 December 2021
15:30 |
| New Star |
76–78 | Cobra Sport |
| Scoring by quarter: 18-13, 19–28, 13–26, 26–11 | ||
| Pts: Calvo Masa 33 Rebs: Ndikumana 11 Asts: Gasana 6 |
Pts: Tang 27 Rebs: Wamukota 13 Asts: Wamukota, Deng 5 | |
Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg
|
10 December 2021
18:30 |
| Ferroviário da Beira |
77–75 | Cape Town Tigers |
| Scoring by quarter: 27–15, 13–31, 18–20, 19–9 | ||
| Pts: Nurmamade 24 Rebs: Ubisse 11 Asts: Kennedy 8 |
Pts: Ganapamo 17 Rebs: Preston 10 Asts: Preston, Kabongo 6 | |
Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg
|
Third place game edit
The third place game was supposed to be played on 11 December 2021, however, the game was cancelled after six players tested positive on COVID-19 hours before the tip-off.[11] It was a later announced that Cape Town qualified as New Star was forced to forfeit.[12]
Final edit
11 December 2021
20:00 |
| Cobra Sport |
65–91 | Ferroviário da Beira |
| Scoring by quarter: 12–17, 18–28, 17–30, 18–16 | ||
| Pts: Malual 21 Rebs: Mabior 6 Asts: Wamukota 6 |
Pts: Nurmamade 25 Rebs: Ubisse 9 Asts: Kennedy 7 | |
Wembey Stadium, Johannesburg
|
Statistics edit
The following were the statistical leaders in the qualification games.[13]
Individual statistic leaders edit
|
Individual game highs edit
|
Notes edit
- ^ On 6 December 2021, it was announced City Oilers had withdrawn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]
References edit
- ^ a b "Draw results for second edition of Basketball Africa League Qualifiers confirmed". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ Ndour, Papa Lamine. "BAL : BC Espoir Fukash remplace BC Mazembe pour la RD Congo". Sport News Africa (in French). Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ a b "24 teams set to battle for six remaining tickets for second edition of Basketball Africa League". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Battle line drawn for six teams in West Division of Road to BAL in Conakry". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "Roche-Bois Warriors motivated and ready to learn at BAL Qualifiers". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Can Ben Uzoh help Cape Town Tigers qualify to the Basketball Africa League?". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Competition System". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ "Draw results for Elite 16 Round of Basketball Africa League Qualifiers confirmed". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ "Which teams will secure the last three tickets for season 2 of the Basketball Africa League?". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ "Which teams will cross the Johannesburg Elite 16 hurdle?". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Beira finish the Elite 16 Division East competition on a high note". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
- ^ "Cape Town Tigers qualify for BAL after New Star forfeit". ESPN.com. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Players statistics of the ROAD TO BAL 2022 2021". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 22 May 2022.