All seven visiting groups have arrived in Kigali forward of the extremely anticipated Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2026 Playoffs, scheduled for Might 22–31.
The postseason match will carry collectively Africa’s high eight basketball powerhouses at BK Area, the place they are going to battle for the continental crown.
For the second time in BAL historical past, the defending champions will miss out on the playoffs.
The primary occasion got here in 2023, when US Monastir have been eradicated through the Sahara Convention. Equally, 2025 champions Al Ahli Tripoli won’t characteristic on this 12 months’s playoffs after failing to qualify for the 2026 BAL season.
Al Ahly (Egypt), ASC Ville de Dakar (Senegal), Al Ahli Ly (Libya), Membership Africain (Tunisia), FUS Rabat (Morocco), Petro de Luanda (Angola), and Tanzania’s Dar Metropolis all arrived in Kigali on Wednesday.
Along with hosts RSSB Tigers, the groups might be accommodated at 4 Factors by Sheraton.
The playoff format will pit groups in opposition to one another within the following matchups: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5. The quarterfinals might be performed over two legs, with mixture scores figuring out the groups that advance to the semifinals.
RSSB Tigers will due to this fact face FUS Rabat twice, with the mixture winner securing a spot within the final 4.
RSSB Tigers are the fourth Rwandan facet to compete within the BAL after Patriots, REG, and APR. Rwanda now turns into the primary and solely nation to have greater than three totally different groups take part within the league.
The Tigers head into the playoffs because the competitors’s highest-scoring crew, having amassed 483 factors in simply 5 video games.
They’ve additionally surpassed the 100-point mark in three of their 5 outings and lead the league in three-point capturing, sinking a mixed 74 triples — 20 greater than second-placed Dar Metropolis, who registered 54.
Friday, Might 22 fixtures
Al Ahly Vs Ville de Dakar 5pm (Kigali-Occasions)
RSSB Tigers Vs FUS Rabat 8pm Kigali-Occasions).
