Road to BAL: Group C begins hunt for Elite 16 slot

 

DAR ES SALAAM (Tanzania) - Action in Dar es Salaam for this year's Road to BAL Group C gets underway on Thursday, 19 October with four teams lining up for the single slot to the next round of qualification. 

The winner of the group qualifies automatically to the Elite 16 round of the East Division to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 14-19 November. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE EVERY GAME OF GROUP C OF THE ROAD TO BAL 2024.

MEET THE TEAMS

There has been a new introduction in Elan Coton of Benin who ideally should have played in FIBA Africa Zone A but due to unavoidable circumstances were moved to Group C.

Replacing Ethiopia's Sebeta City, the Benin champions play Zone 5 sides Pazi BBC of Tanzania, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) of Kenya and Dynamo BBC of Burundi for the zone's sole ticket to Johannesburg.

ELAN COTON

Founded in 2021, Elan Coton, won the 2022  Benin title and defeated Aspac BBC who had returned to the final after two years to defend the title and qualify for their second Road to BAL.

The side made their Road to BAL debut in Niamey, Niger in 2022 where they finished third in Group A with a 1-2 mark. They beat hosts AS Nigelec 75-65 to open their group before losing to Stade Malien and Abidjan Basket Club (ABC).

Elan Coton caused one of the biggest surprises in last year's Elite 16 in Abidjan by beating former African champions AS Sale

They, however, received a wild card to play in last edition's Elite 16 where they lost their opening match to ABC Fighters of Cote d'Ivoire 96-59 before picking an historic win in a 62-58 outcome against AS Sale of Morocco. Elan Coton lost the final group match 62-57 to Bangui Sporting Club and failed to proceed to the knockout stage for a chance to qualify for the BAL Final 12. 

The Benin champions begin their hunt for a second appearance with a clash against hosts Pazi BBC of Tanzania who are making their debut in the BAL qualifiers, becoming the fourth club the country has produced for the prestigious competition.

PAZI BBC

The Tanzanian side is expected to field a strong side with the likelihood of former NBA player Hasheem Thabeet featuring.

They have also acquired the services of highly sought-after guard Dhieu Deing who was part of the African team in this year’s 2023 GLOBL JAM tournament played in July and represented Cape Town Tigers in the last Road to BAL edition.

Dhieu Deing helped Cape Town Tigers qualify for the BAL season 3 with averages of 12.3 points and 6 assists per game

Landry Ndikumana, who has played for City Oilers of Uganda (2019), Burundi’s New Star (2021) and Urunani (2022) in the last three editions of the Road to BAL, also adds to the side's depth as they host the competition.

DYNAMO BBC

Meanwhile, Dynamo BBC, making a return to the continental competition, having made an appearance in the qualifiers for the inaugural edition of the BAL held in 2021, open their campaign against Kenyan champions KPA.

Dynamo BBC finished 1-3 in their Road to BAL debut in 2019

KPA

The dockers have acquired the services of four key players in Lugman Lundy, Tyronne Jordan (USA), Abdoulaye Haidara (Mali) and  Bright Akhuetie (Nigeria) who are expected to play a key role on the court under the tutelage of French tactician Guy Arnaud. Kenyan international Ariel Okall is also part of the squad.

KPA

Dynamo, on their part, will rely on the services of South Sudanese forward David ‘Dekong’ Deng who featured for Cobra in the 2022 edition of BAL.

Nigerian teenage sensation Israel Otobo, who was part of the national team in their quest for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification earlier in the year, adds to Dynamo's versatile squad that also boasts the experienced Alvin Ninziza who captained the side to the 2022/23 national title.

Group C, East Division (October 19-21-Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)

Fixtures:

October 19: Pazi BBC vs. Elan Coton; KPA vs. Dynamo
October 20: Dynamo vs. Pazi BBC; Elan Coton  vs. KPA
October 21: Pazi BBC vs. KPA; Dynamo vs. Elan Coton

FIBA