The Sahara Conference is one of the three conferences that make up the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the other two being the Nile Conference and the Kalahari Conference. All conferences currently consist of four teams.
 | |
| League | Basketball Africa League |
|---|---|
| Sport | Basketball |
| Founded | 2022 |
| First season | 2022 |
| No. of teams | 4 (2024–present) 6 (2022–2023) |
| Venue(s) | Dakar Arena |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Rivers Hoopers (1st title) (2024) |
 2024 BAL Sahara Conference | |
The conference alignment began in the 2022 season, although plans to have conferences were already set up before the inaugural season. Named after the Sahara, the conference has been played at a single venue thus far, the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal for the past two seasons.
Venues edit
From 2022 to 2024, all games of the Sahara Conference were played at the Dakar Arena located in Dakar.[a]
Current 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[b] | |
| 3 |  US Monastir
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 437 | 450 | −13 | .500[b] | |
| 4 |  APR
|
6 | 2 | 4 | 432 | 471 | −39 | .333 |
- ^ Officially, the Dakar Arena is located in the town of Diamniadio.
- ^ a b Head-to-head: AS Douanes 1–1 US Monastir, AS Douanes won on aggregrate point difference (+1).
Teams edit
2024 teams edit
| Team | Location | Conference
appearances |
|---|---|---|
| AS Douanes
|
Dakar, Senegal | 3 |
| APR
|
Kigali, Rwanda | 1 |
| US Monastir
|
Monastir, Tunisia | 3 |
| Rivers Hoopers
|
Port Harcourt, Nigeria | 1 |
Conference winners edit
Although no official trophy or title is awarded, the team ending at the top of the standings in the conference is lauded as "Conference winners" by the BAL.
| Season | Winners | Conference
record |
Playoffs result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 (Details) | REG (RWA)
|
4–1 (.800) | Lost in quarter-finals | [1] |
| 2023 (Details) |  Stade Malien (MLI)
|
3–2 (.600) | Won third place game | [2] |
| 2024 (Details) | Rivers Hoopers (NGR)
|
4–2 (.667) | TBD |
Titles by team edit
| Team | Titles | Season(s) won |
|---|---|---|
| REG
|
1 | 2022 |
| Stade Malien
|
1 | 2023 |
| Rivers Hoopers
|
1 | 2024 |
Standings edit
| ^ | Denotes team that won the BAL championship |
| + | Denotes team that lost in the BAL finals |
| * | Denotes team that qualified for the BAL playoffs |
| Season | Positions (by team) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | |
| 2022 | REG* (4–1) |
Monastir^ (4–1) |
AS Salé* (3–2) | SLAC* (3–2) |
Ferroviário (1–4) |
DUC (1–4) |
| 2023 | Stade Malien* (3–2) |
AS Douanes+ (3–2) |
REG* (3–2) | ABC Fighters* (3–2) |
Monastir (3–2) |
Kwara Falcons (0–5) |
| 2024 | Rivers Hoopers* (4–2) |
AS Douanes* (3–3) |
US Monastir* (3–3) |
APR (2–4) |
– | |
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ "Rwanda's REG win Sahara leg, AS Sale into BAL playoffs". ESPN.com. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "How Stade Malien became Kings of Basketball Africa League Sahara Conference". OJB SPORT. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.