Saturday

AS Douanes Vs Abidjan Basket Club 6pm

Home side AS Douanes begin their quest for a ticket to the 2023 Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs when they take on Ivorian giants Abidjan Basket Club (ABC) Fighters in Sahara Conference opener slated for Saturday, March 11, at 6pm at Dakar Arena, Senegal.

The Senegalese side goes into the tie hoping to get home advantage from thousands of supporters heading into the Arena to support their club in the only game of the regular season opening day.

Having been away from the BAL for a year, Douanes will have to show up a better side compared to the 2021 season and then DUC Dakar were last year.

They start the campaign knowing that a ticket to the finals will be theirs to lose.

No Senegalese side has made it to the semi-finals since BAL's inception in 2021, despite the national league champions having automatic entry into the tournament.

They will now need to work hard to earn a victory against the ABC Fighters team which qualified to make their debut appearance in the regular season after winning the Road to BAL West Division Elite 16 qualifying tournament.

Meanwhile, Rwandan representatives REG start their expedition on Sunday, March 12, against Nigeria's Kwara Falcons at 4pm while US Monastir will begin their title defense against Stade Malien on Sunday, March 12 at 9:30 pm.

The Sahara conference will see six participating teams play between them in a 15-game group after which four teams will qualify for the BAL Playoffs and finals which will feature a single-elimination tournament at BK Arena in Kigali from May 21-27.