The Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season 4 concluded in style at the magnificent BK Arena in Kigali as Angolan giants Petro de Luanda won brought their four-year jinx to finally win the coveted championship. The Angolans beat Libya's Al Ahly Ly 107-94 in a game that entertained thousands of fans, including President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame, after an action-packed and tight playoff round that had unfolded days earlier. ALSO READ: Petro de Luanda crowned BAL 2024 champions Times Sport’s Damas Sikubwabo followed the weeklong tournament, and he looks at five things that shaped the tournament. Petro de Luanda finally take the trophy home After participating in all three past editions of the BAL, Petro de Luanda finally got to lay their hands on the coveted trophy. In the previous editions, the trophy had evaded Angolan powerhouse even though they boast rich basketball history on the continent, including winning two African Champions Cup in 2006 and 2015. ALSO READ: Acuil-Jr. named 2024 BAL MVP After winning the BAL, Petro de Luanda booked an automatic ticket to represent Africa at the 2024 FIBA InterContinental Cup that will take place in Singapore in September. Acuil-Jr. shines, named 2024 BAL MVP BAL 2024 had a lot of good performers including Rivers Hoopers' duo Will Perry and Divine Eke, as well as Petro de Luanda's Childe Dundao to mention a few. However, Ahly Ly's Jo-Lual Acuil Jr. did more than all of them and was hence named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). The South Sudanese, 30, took the major individual recognition thanks to his contributions in scoring where he set a new BAL record by scoring 42 points in the game against City Oilers of Uganda. In addition to his MVP recognition and his nomination to the 2024 All-BAL Defensive Team, the 2.10m center won the 2024 Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the Year. Nigeria's Rivers Hoopers put up a big challenge Rivers Hoopers reached the semi-finals, putting up a great performance that many Nigerians had failed to showcase since the BAL started in 2021. The Kingsmen outlasted former BAL champions US Monastir to advance to the semifinals. They were also the winners of the Sahara Conference earlier. Rwandan teams struggled, but fans never disappointed Despite APR’s shock elimination from the conference stage of the competition in May, local fans went for the playoffs at BK Arena in good numbers. APR were eliminated at the conference level, and this was the worst performance by a Rwandan team since the BAL started in 2021. Entertainment lives up to the hype Although Rwanda was not represented in the playoffs, musicians did all they could to associate the tournament with Rwandans as their performances took the BK Arena by storm. As opposed to the inaugural season, different artistes performed during the just-concluded tournament in what could be described as a reveler to the fans. Artistes who headlined BAL Playoffs halftime show include Nigerian musician Adekunle Gold, The Ben, Bwiza, Ish Kevin, Kivumbi King and Kevin Kade, among others. The performances witnessed cemented the connection existing between basketball and misuc.
