Basketball Africa League unveils Nile Conference rosters ahead of group phase tip-off on April 26 in Cairo

View Official Basketball Africa League Nile Conference Rosters

Basketball Africa League Nile Conference Hype Video

DAKAR, SENEGAL AND CAIRO, EGYPT – The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced the rosters of the six teams that will compete in the league’s Nile Conference group phase from April 26 – May 6 at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo, Egypt.

The six teams – Al Ahly (Egypt), Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), City Oilers (Uganda), Club Atlético Petróleos de Luanda (Petro de Luanda; Angola), Clube Ferroviário da Beira (CFV – Beira; Mozambique) and Seydou Legacy Athlétique Club (S.L.A.C; Guinea) – collectively feature 78 players from 15 countries across Africa, Oceania, and the U.S., including two former NBA players, nine players with NBA G League experience, 20 former NCAA Division I players, six NBA Academy Africa prospects, and 15 former Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa campers.  Al Ahly and the City Oilers will be making their BAL debut, while the Cape Town Tigers, CFV – Beira and S.L.A.C are returning for the second consecutive season.  2022 runner-up Petro de Luanda has participated in all three BAL seasons.

In the conference opener, Al Ahly will take on CFV – Beira at 12 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CAT on Canal+, ESPN, NBA TV, Visionary TV, Voice of America (VOA) and select free-to-air channels across the continent.  The game will also livestream on the NBA App, NBA.com and BAL.NBA.com.  Fans can view the complete Nile Conference game schedule and purchase tickets at BAL.NBA.com.

The 12 BAL teams have once again been divided into two conferences – the Sahara Conference and the Nile Conference.  Each conference plays a 15-game group phase during which each team plays the five other teams in its conference once.  The top four teams from the Nile Conference group phase will join Abidjan Basket Club (ABC Fighters; Côte d’Ivoire), AS Douanes (Senegal), Rwanda Energy Group (REG; Rwanda) and Stade Malien (Mali) in the BAL Playoffs, which will feature a single-elimination tournament and Finals at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda in May.

Below please find select BAL Nile Conference player and coach storylines:

  • Josh Hall (Cape Town Tigers) played 21 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2020-21 NBA season.
  • Michael Gbinije (Cape Town Tigers) was the No. 49 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons and played in nine games for the Pistons during the 2016-2017 season.  He won the 2015 FIBA AfroBasket Championship as a member of the Nigeria Men’s National Team.
  • Ater Majok (Petro de Luanda) was the No. 58 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.  Majok, who won the 2022 BAL Finals and Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the Year Award as a member of US Monastir, is competing in his third BAL season.
  • In addition to signing Majok, Petro de Luanda signed 2022 BAL champion Souleymane Diabate.   Majok and Diabate join 2022 All-BAL First Team member Carlos Morais and 2022 All-BAL Defensive Team members Childe Dundão and Abou Gakou.  A number of Petro de Luanda players previously represented their respective national teams in FIBA Basketball World Cup tournaments, including Diabate (Côte d’Ivoire; 2010 and 2019) and Dundão (Angola; 2017 FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup).
  • Petro de Luanda shooting guard Carlos Morais is one of the most accomplished players in the history of Angolan basketball.  He is an eight-time Angolan League champion, a three-time Angolan Cup winner, and represented Angola in three FIBA Basketball World Cups (2006, 2010, 2019) and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  He was also named Most Valuable Player of the 2012 FIBA Africa Champions Cup.  Morais played in three preseason games with the Toronto Raptors in 2013.
  • Former New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and NBA G League Ignite assistant coach Rasheed Hazzard will serve as head coach of the Cape Town Tigers.  Hazzard was also an assistant coach for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers when they won the 2021-22 G League Championship.  He will coach alongside South Africa’s Flosh Ngwenya, who led the team during the Road to the BAL qualifiers last November.
  • Tigers guard Zaire Wade most recently played for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League.  Zaire is the son of three-time NBA champion and 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Dwyane Wade.
  • Al Ahly forward Anunwa “Nuni” Omot made history with the South Sudan National Team when the team qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time earlier this year.  He was South Sudan’s leading scorer throughout their World Cup qualifying campaign.
  • Six Al Ahly players were part of the Egypt National Team that qualified for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.  In addition, Al Ahly guard Amr Gendy represented Egypt in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and guard Corey Webster represented his native New Zealand in two FIBA Basketball World Cups (2014 and 2019).
  • NBA Academy Africa prospect Dramane Camara, who is playing for Al Ahly as part of the BAL Elevate program, recently committed to DePaul University and is set to join the Blue Demons ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Below are the nine former NBA G League players competing in the Nile Conference group phase:

 

Team Player Country Last G League Team
Al Ahly Anunwa Omot South Sudan Lakeland Magic
CFV – Beira Najeal Young U.S. Santa Cruz Warriors
Cape Town Tigers Josh Hall U.S. Grand Rapids Gold
Cape Town Tigers Michael Gbinije U.S. / Nigeria Oklahoma City Blue
Cape Town Tigers Zaire Wade U.S. Salt Lake City Stars
Petro de Luanda Ater Majok South Sudan South Bay Lakers
S.L.A.C Uchenna Iroegbu U.S. / Nigeria Stockton Kings
S.L.A.C Sedrick Barefield U.S. Oklahoma City Blue
S.L.A.C Dane Miller Jr. U.S. Oklahoma City Blue

 

Below are the 20 former NCAA Division I players competing in the Nile Conference group phase:

 

Team Player Country Last NCAA College/University
Al Ahly Anunwa Omot South Sudan Baylor University
Al Ahly Omar Araby Egypt University of Southern California
Al Ahly Michael Thompson U.S. Northwestern University
City Oilers James Edward Justice Jr. U.S. University of Tennessee
City Oilers Falando Cortez Jones U.S. Mississippi Valley State University
City Oilers Germaine Vashon Roebuck Jr. U.S. Judson University
City Oilers Ngor William Barnaba South Sudan Talladega College
CFV – Beira Makhtar Gueye Senegal University of Alabama, Birmingham
CFV – Beira William Perry U.S. Lenoir-Ryhne University
CFV – Beira Bourama Sidibe Mali Syracuse University
CFV – Beira Najeal Young U.S. University of Illinois
Cape Town Tigers Evans Ganapamo Central African Republic Prairie View A&M
Cape Town Tigers Samekelo Cele South Africa University of Science and Arts, Oklahoma
Cape Town Tigers Michael Gbinije U.S. / Nigeria Duke University and Syracuse University
Cape Town Tigers Pieter Prinsloo South Africa Marist College
Cape Town Tigers Dylan Whitbread South Africa Colgate University
Petro de Luanda Ater Majok South Sudan University of Connecticut
Petro de Luanda Damian Hollis U.S. George Washington University
S.L.A.C Sedric Barefield U.S. University of Utah
S.L.A.C Uchenna Iroegbu U.S. / Nigeria Stony Brook University

 

Below are the six NBA Academy Africa prospects competing in the Nile Conference group phase:

 

Team Player Hometown/Country
Al Ahly Dramane Sayon Camara Bamako, Mali
Cape Town Tigers Parby Kabamba Musongela Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
City Oilers Segun Ezekiel Obe Ikeja, Nigeria
CFV – Beira Paul Kabenga Mbiya Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Petro de Luanda Seifeldin Hendaway Cairo, Egypt
S.L.A.C Mabilmawut Kon Mabil Juba City, South Sudan

 

Below are the 15 former BWB Africa campers competing in the Nile Conference group phase:

 

Team Player Country BWB Camp(s)
Al Ahly Amro Sherif Mohamed Abdelhalim Egypt BWB Africa 2009
Al Ahly Omar Oraby Egypt BWB Africa 2008
City Oilers Baale Fayed Uganda BWB Africa 2017
City Oilers Jimmy Enabu Uganda BWB Africa 2007
CFV – Beira Luis Rafael de Barros Mozambique BWB Africa 2004
CFV – Beira Makhtar Gueye Senegal BWB Global 2015
CFV – Beira Paul Mbiya DRC BWB Africa 2022 / BWB Global 2023
Cape Town Tigers Liam Reid South Africa BWB Africa 2014
Cape Town Tigers Dylan Whitbread South Africa BWB Africa 2011
Cape Town Tigers Lebesa Selepe South Africa BWB Africa 2008
Cape Town Tigers Parby Musongela DRC BWB Africa 2022 / BWB Global 2023
Petro de Luanda Gerson Domingos Angola BWB Africa 2013
Petro de Luanda Glofate Buiamba Angola BWB Africa 2016
Petro de Luanda Seifeldin Hendaway Egypt BWB Africa 2022 / BWB Global 2023
S.L.A.C Mabilmawut Mabil South Sudan BWB Africa 2022

 

The 2023 BAL season is reaching fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages through free-to-air and paid TV broadcast partnerships with the African Union of Broadcasting, American Forces Network (AFN), Canal+, ESPN (sub-Saharan Africa), NBA TV, Tencent, TV5 Monde, Visionary TV and VOA, and livestreaming on the NBA App, NBA.com and BAL.NBA.com.

 

*Rosters are subject to change