After AS Police, Mali will again be represented at the 3e edition of the Basketball Africa League (Bal) by the Malian Stadium in Bamako. The men’s champion club was able to win one of the 3 tickets at the end of the playoffs played in Abidjan from November 14 to 19.
La Bal is a new basketball competition created in 2020 by Fiba in partnership with the NBA. It brings together the men’s champion clubs of Africa and replaces the Fiba Africa Basketball League, the 2019 version of the African Cup of basketball champion clubs. As champions of Mali, Stade Malien de Bamako recently took part in the qualifiers for the West Division zone that the Ivorian capital hosted from 14 to 19 November.
In these qualifiers, 8 teams divided into 2 groups of 4 took part. After flying over their group with 3 players in as many matches, the Whites of Bamako unfortunately lost their semi-final match to miss a direct qualification at the same time. But as there were 3 tickets in play, they redeemed themselves in a classification match for the 3e square. Facing the Central Africans, the band of coach Kaba Kanté had strong nerves to end up winning with a 3-point difference. By beating Bangui Sporting Club 62-59, Stade Malien de Bamako took 3e and last ticket after Abidjan Basket Club of Côte d’Ivoire, winner in the final (81-70) of Seydou Legacy Atlhetique Club (SLAC) of Guinea to constitute the winning trio of the West Division zone.
After AS Police, the Malian stadium in Bamako becomes the 2e Malian club to take part in this new continental competition.
A.Cissouma
