Kigali is as soon as once more making ready to host the Basketball Africa League Playoffs, with eight groups set to battle for the coveted continental title at BK Enviornment.
The playoff contenders secured qualification by the Kalahari Convention in South Africa and the Sahara Convention in Morocco.
Rwanda will probably be represented by RSSB Tigers, who superior after a powerful marketing campaign within the Kalahari Convention, the place they completed high of the standings with a 4-1 file.
Because the playoffs strategy, listed below are some key issues to know forward of the competitors:
Quarterfinals to characteristic two-game sequence
For the primary time in BAL historical past, the quarterfinals will probably be performed over a two-game sequence format, with the crew holding the superior mixture rating progressing to the semifinals.
No defending champions
For under the second time in BAL historical past, the defending champions won’t characteristic within the playoffs. The same state of affairs occurred in 2023 when US Monastir didn’t progress from the Sahara Convention. This 12 months, reigning champions Al Ahli Tripoli didn’t qualify for the 2026 BAL season.
Reigning MVP dominated out
Other than the 2025 BAL season, when Jo Lual Acuil returned to defend his MVP crown, no BAL MVP has returned for the playoffs after profitable the award the earlier season. The development continues this 12 months.
Jean Jacques Boissy, who guided Al Ahli Tripoli to the 2025 BAL title and received MVP honours, featured for Alahly Ly through the 2026 Kalahari Convention in Pretoria. Nevertheless, a foot harm has dominated him out of this season’s playoffs.
Acquainted teaching faces
Among the many eight head coaches on this 12 months’s playoffs, solely Mamadou Gueye of Dar Metropolis and Mentioned El Bouzadi of FUS Rabat have beforehand reached this stage of the competitors.
Gueye, a Senegalese coach, received the 2023 BAL Coach of the 12 months award after main AS Douanes to a runners-up end. He now takes cost of Tanzanian aspect Dar Metropolis.
El Bouzadi, in the meantime, is in his third consecutive BAL marketing campaign with FUS Rabat. The Moroccan tactician additionally coached AS Sale through the inaugural 2021 BAL season and has guided each golf equipment to the quarterfinals throughout his 4 appearances within the competitors.
Diabate, solely participant to win BAL twice
Solo Diabate of ASC Ville de Dakar is the one participant on this season’s BAL discipline to have received the competitors twice. He lifted the title with Zamalek in 2021 and with US Monastir in 2022.
Michael Fakuade is the one different participant in BAL historical past to have achieved the feat, together with his final look within the league coming in 2023.
Dar Metropolis’s historic rise
Dar Metropolis have emerged as one of many season’s shock packages. Alongside Alahly Ly, they superior from the FIBA-organised Street to BAL qualifiers to the principle BAL season.
Regardless of coming into the playoffs with a adverse 2-3 file, Dar Metropolis grew to become the one crew within the 2026 BAL playoffs to qualify with extra defeats than victories, underlining the competitiveness of this 12 months’s match.
