Basketball Africa League Unveils Nile Conference Rosters Ahead of Group Phase in Egypt Tipping Off April 9

Six Nile Conference Teams Feature 78 Players from 12 Countries Across Africa and the U.S., Including Two Former NBA Players; Nile Conference Opener Will Feature Defending BAL (www.theBAL.com) Champion Zamalek of Egypt Taking on South Sudan’s Cobra Sport at Hassan Moustafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo at 2:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CAT on Canal+, ESPN Africa, ESPN+, Voice of America, the NBA App, NBA.com and NBA.com/BAL; Tickets for Nile Conference Group Phase and Fan Zone Experience in Cairo from April 9-19 On Sale Now at NBA.com/BAL.

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today unveiled the rosters of the six teams (https://bit.ly/3DNXqFO) that will compete in the league’s Nile Conference group phase at the Hassan Moustafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo, Egypt, which tips off Saturday, April 9 and runs through Tuesday, April 19.  The six teams – BC Espoir Fukash (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), Cobra Sport (South Sudan), FAP (Cameroon), Petro de Luanda (Angola) and Zamalek (Egypt) – collectively feature 78 players from 12 countries across Africa and the U.S. 

In the Nile Conference opener, defending BAL champion Zamalek of Egypt will take on South Sudan’s Cobra Sport at 2:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CAT on Canal+, ESPN Africa, ESPN+, Voice of America, the NBA App, NBA.com and NBA.com/BAL in the first of 15 games taking place in Cairo this month.  The top four teams from the Nile Conference will join the top four teams from the Sahara Conference – REG (Rwanda), US Monastir (Tunisia), AS Salé (Morocco) and S.L.A.C (Guinea) – in the 2022 BAL Playoffs, which will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from May 21-28. 

The Nile Conference features two former NBA players: Jamel Artis (Cape Town Tigers; last played for the Orlando Magic) and Ike Diogu (Zamalek; last played for the San Antonio Spurs).  Diogu, the ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, won the 2015 FIBA AfroBasket championship as a member of the Nigeria Men’s National Team and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament in 2017.

Each of the Nile Conference’s six teams, which come from six African countries, will have up to 13 players, at least eight of whom are citizens of their respective team’s home country and up to four of whom are from other countries, with no more than two players per team from outside of Africa.  As part of the BAL Elevate (https://on.NBA.com/3KlaBkb) program, each team’s 13th roster spot is reserved for a prospects from NBA Academy Africa, an elite basketball training center in Saly, Senegal, for the top high-school age prospects from across Africa and the first of its kind on the continent.  Below are the six BAL Elevate players participating in the Nile Conference group phase:

Team

BAL Elevate Player

Hometown/Country

Age

Height

Position

BC Espoir Fukash

Emmanuel Eberechukwu Okorafor

Abia State, Nigeria

17

6’9

F

Cape Town Tigers

Matar Diop

Dakar, Senegal

18

6’8

F

Cobra Sport

Khaman Madit Maluach

Rumbek, South Sudan

15

7’0

F

FAP

Ulrich Kamka Chomche

Bafang, Cameroon

16

6’11

F

Petro de Luanda

Thierry Serge Darlan

Bangui, Central African Republic

18

6’6

SG

Zamalek

Khadim Rassoul Mboup

Dakar, Senegal

15

6’7

G

The Nile Conference group phase will feature 12 former NCAA Division I players, including five players with NBA G League experience:

Team

Player

Country

Last College/University

Cape Town Tigers

Billy Preston*

U.S.

Kansas

Cape Town Tigers

Myck Kabongo*

DRC/Canada

Texas

Cape Town Tigers

Jamel Artis*

U.S.

Pittsburgh

Cape Town Tigers

Peter Prinsloo

South Africa

Marist

FAP

Alexis Wangmene Mang-Ikri

Cameroon

Texas

FAP

Morman Deshaun Lamar

U.S.

Towson

Petro de Luanda

Yanick Moreira*

Angola

Southern Methodist

Zamalek

Anas Mahmoud

Egypt

Louisville

Zamalek

Mikhael McKinney*

U.S.

Sacramento State

Zamalek

Edgar Sosa

U.S.

Louisville

Zamalek

Ike Diogu

U.S./Nigeria

Arizona State

Zamalek

Darryl DJ Strawberry Jr.

U.S.

Maryland

*Players with NBA G League experience

The Nile Conference also features eight players who previously participated in Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program for top prospects from across the continent that has seen 10 former campers drafted into the NBA, including five-time NBA All-Star Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2012) and 2019 NBA champion Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors; Cameroon; BWB Africa 2011):

Team

Player

Country

BWB Experience

Cape Town Tigers

Igor Lunnemann

South Africa

BWB Africa 2018

Cape Town Tigers

Lebesa Selepe

South Africa

BWB Africa 2008 & 2010

Cape Town Tigers

Liam Reid

South Africa

BWB Africa 2014

Cape Town Tigers

Nkosinathi Festile

South Africa

BWB Africa 2011

FAP

Alexis Wangmene Mang-Ikri

Cameroon

BWB Africa 2004

FAP

Yanis Rene Charles Ndjonga

Cameroon

BWB Africa 2018

Petro de Luanda

Gerson Domingos

Angola

BWB Africa 2013

Petro de Luanda

Yanick Moreira

Angola

BWB Africa 2009

The 12 BAL teams have been divided into two conferences – the Sahara Conference and the Nile Conference.  Each conference plays a 15-game group phase during which each team faces the five other teams in its conference once.  The Sahara Conference group phase took place at the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal from March 5-15.

*Rosters are subject to change

View Basketball Africa League 2022 Nile Conference Rosters: (https://on.NBA.com/36Uz6WZ)

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Basketball Africa League (BAL).

Contact
Edwin Eselem, Basketball Africa League
+221 786154287
eeselem@thebal.com

About the BAL
The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa.  The BAL, which is headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Regional Office Africa has organized in Africa and marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.  Fans can follow the BAL @theBAL on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and register their interest in receiving more information at www.theBAL.com.

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Source: Apo-Opa

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