ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The 2025 Road to BAL was exciting as clubs fulfilled one part of their dream. There were second chances, miracle runs and bitter disappointments - which made this year's journey to the continent's elite Basketball Africa League (BAL) one for the ages.
FIBA.Basketball dissects the Road to BAL, its plots and the actors that brought it to life.
Three months of continental basketball action saw four teams: Stade Malien, Al Ahli Tripoli, Nairobi City Thunder, and Kriol Star stamp their tickets to next year's BAL.
HOST CITIES, PARTICIPATING TEAMS AND GAMES PLAYED
This year's Road to BAL visited six African cities: Tripoli (Libya), Kibaha (Tanzania), Harare (Zimbabwe), Douala (Cameroon), Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire) and Nairobi (Kenya).
25 teams took part in the 2024 Road to BAL, which witnessed 76 games played from 10 October to 3 December.
THREE BAL DEBUTANTS
Of the four qualified teams; three (City Thunder, Al Ahli and Kriol Star) will make their maiden BAL appearance next year, while Stade Malien are returning after first appearing in 2023.
HOW THEY MADE IT TO THE BAL SEASON 5
The club from the Libyan capital, Tripoli, finished the 23-team Road to BAL qualifiers with the best record (7-0).
Apart from being unbeaten, Al Ahli Tripoli, Division West winners, became the second club from their country to qualify for the BAL.
American Kevin Murphy was a key player for the Libyan champions, contributing 22.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists and an efficiency of 20.3 per game.
Murphy stepped up big for the Libyans with a game-high 34 points in a make-or-break semi-final against ABC Fighters of Cote D'Ivoire.
Another Division West team, Stade Malien, were 5-2 as they stamped their ticket to the BAL.
The club from Mali was steady throughout the different stages of the Road to BAL, and Mahamane Coulibaly's performances showed how solid team Malien was.
His efficiency - 13.4 - and 15.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game helped Stade Malien's progress to the BAL.
CITY THUNDER
In the East Division, City Thunder, on their way to being the first club from Kenya to qualify for the BAL, finished their campaign with an 8-1 record.
Garang Diing put in a strong showing for the Thunder during the Road to BAL, averaging 12.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
He posted an efficiency of 20.1 - he had his best game in the Division East Final against Kriol Star, a 20-point and seven-rebound performance.
KRIOL STAR
Kriol Star made the most of their second chance after failing to win a game (0-2 record) in the preliminary phase in the Division West in Tripoli, Libya.
The Cape Verdean club received a last-minute wild card and finished with a 3-2 record in the Elite 16 Division East to become the first team from the island nation to qualify for the BAL.
American Patrick Mcglynn, who joined at the Elite 16, led Kriol Star statistically, averaging 24 points, three rebounds, and 2.7 assists at an efficiency of 16.3 per game.
He had his best game in the Last Four, scoring 35 points against Burundi's Urunani.
DISAPPOINTMENT
Urunani looked unbeatable throughout the Road to BAL, marching to a 4-0 record in the first stages and looked a sure bet to make their first BAL after going 3-0 in group play of the Elite 16.
Sadly a meltdown in the semi-finals against Kriol Star ended the Burundian club's hopes.
Zambia's Matero Magic showed promise with a 5-0 record in the zonal qualifiers, but crossing over at the Elite 16 seems troublesome for The Tamanga Boys, who finished with a 0-3 record in the group phase of the Elite 16.
OTHER STATS
On their way to an unbeaten record in the preliminary qualifiers, Matero Magic notched the biggest win in the Road to BAL, a 114-42 win over Botswana Defence Force.
Urunani's Jean Jacques Boissy led the tournament in scoring (24.3 points per game). He also recorded a tournament-high 37 points against JKT.
FIBA