The just-concluded Sahara conference of the 2023 Basketball Africa League (BAL) in Dakar, Senegal was an exciting sporting experience that many fans on the continent savored.

For eleven days, six teams from various African countries played thrilling basketball as they vied for a ticket to the playoffs stage that will take place in Kigali in May.

ALSO READ: Stade Malien are Sahara Conference champions, Monastir eliminated

Weekend Sport’s Damas Sikubwabo watched the action-packed regular season live from Dakar Arena and he brings you five things that stood out during the entertaining elite club basketball showpiece.

US Monastir eliminated from BAL 2023

The BAL 2022 Champions were regarded by many as not only firm favorites to advance to the playoffs but also a team to beat prior to the regular season.

However, their unprecedented elimination from the BAL is a true reflection of how little they knew that they were going to play basketball giants that fear no one with AS Douanes sending them back home without reaching the playoffs after beating them 76-60.

Monastir were at the top of the conference table before playing their last game against AS Douanes and only a defeat at a point gap of less than 10 points would pose no harm to their qualification.

But they were facing a home side that needed to win a game that was supposed to decide their fate for the BAL playoffs.

The hosts caused a huge upset by beating the defending champions 76-60 in front of a raucous home crowd to not only qualify but to also win by a big point difference that helped Liz Mills’ABC cement a place in the playoffs.

With Monastir out of BAL and Zamalek not participating in the 2023 season, the BAL will crown a new champion in May.

REG qualify but with so much to do

Rwandan side Rwanda Energy Group (REG), on March 15, secured a spot into the BAL playoffs after winning three conference matches in a row.

However, Dean Murray left Dakar with a lot to fix in his squad during the next two months if he is to lead the side to the BAL triumph in May.

REG enjoyed a bright start to the Sahara Conference campaign by beating Nigeria’s Kawara Falcons (64-48), ABC (80-73) and home side AS Douanes (69-55) before they lost Stade Malien (64-84) and US Monastir (79-84) to leave Murray and Rwanda concerned by what the future holds for the team which has the championship to lose since they will be playing before the home support.

Stade Malien top Sahara Conference

The Malian champions’ 90-71 victory over ABC saw them finish at the summit of the Sahara Conference and hence advanced to the 2023 Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs as conference champions.

Finishing at the top was an advantage for the Malian side who are likely to draw an ‘easier’ opponent during the playoffs in Kigali.

Mills’ debutants ABC secure BAL Playoffs berth

The Fighters’ victory over Nigerian Kwara Falcons (79-76) in the last game was all that they needed to qualify for the playoffs in May in Kigali.

The Ivorian side has one of the most accomplished coaches in Africa in Liz Mills, the Australian coach who has more than a decades of basketball coaching experience with African men's teams - at both club and national level.

At BAL 2022, she coached AS Sale, and was the first woman to coach a Moroccan professional sports team.

Ivorian basketball is on a high with the national team having performed superbly in recent years. As the winners of their qualifying tournament, they have wind in their sails already. There is a healthy mix of veterans and young players within the team and, on paper, they are one of the best-prepared teams to have come through the Elite 16.

ABC's grip over Ivorian basketball has loosened in recent years. They had to win back their title in 2022 after losing it to Société Omnisports de l'Armée the previous year.

And, with this, qualifying to the BAL playoffs shouldn’t be surprising anyone.

BAL ranking rule intervene

Except Kwara Falcons who didn’t not win a single game in the Sahara Conference, Stade Malien, As Douanes, REG, ABC and US Monastir finished the conference with three wins and two defeats each.

The five teams were tied to the same 3-2 mark yet only four were supposed to progress to the playoffs.

The final standings were determined based on point difference from four games played between the five teams.

According to the rules, if two or more teams in a conference have the same win-loss record across all games, the games between such two or more teams shall decide their respective rankings. If two or more teams have the same win-loss record across the respective games between them, further criteria will be applied with the first one being a higher point difference.

The rules stood in favor of Stade Malien, As Douanes, REG, ABC and dropped Monastir out of the top four zone and were hence eliminated.