The recently concluded Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2024 was once again quite a show for a number of African players. Countries whose players competed at the showpiece include Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan and Tunisia. The competition was a success for Africa’s national team stars as three of them made it to the All-BAL First Team while Ogoh Odaudu, who has served as Nigeria head coach on countless occasions, was named the 2024 BAL Head Coach of the Year. South Sudan's Jo Lual Acuil Jr., who last featured for his country during the 2023 World Cup African Qualifiers, dominated the league's season awards, winning the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards after helping Libya's Al Ahly Ly (Benghazi) to a second place finish in their debut BAL appearance. ALSO READ: Acuil-Jr. named 2024 BAL MVP Acuil Jr. was joined in the All-BAL First Team by American duo of Will Perry and Chris Crawford, Mali's Aliou Diarra and South Africa's Samkelo Cele. The 2.11m (6ft 11in) center was also named to the All-BAL Defensive Team. Meanwhile, BAL 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, Aliou Diarra was an x-factor for Morocco' FUS Rabat, who came up short to Cape Town Tigers in a quarterfinals overtime clash. Diarra averaged 16.5 points, 10 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Samkelo Cele was named to the All-BAL Defensive Team for the second season in a row while hitting some incredible shots such as the game-tying buzzer-beater three-pointer that sent the Cape Town Tigers v FUS Rabat into overtime. The list of Africa's brightest stars that showed up and showed out in the recently concluded BAL is long and we picked other players that stamped their names among the league's best. ALSO READ: BAL 2024: Petro de Luanda claimed the throne. What else stood out? Childe Dundao (Petro de Luanda) Petro de Luanda's Childe Dundao is often underestimated for his low centre of gravity, but when called upon, he stands tall. In the last two seasons, the Angolan point guard has been in BAL's All-Defensive team and a steals leader in the 2022 tournament. In this season's BAL, Dundao could not replicate those feats, as he and Petro struggled in the Kalahari Conference, but they turned the ship around in the playoffs with the 26-year-old averaging 10.8 points per game, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game which contributed to Petro’s maiden BAL championship. Solo Diabate (Al Ahly Ly) Al Ahly Ly's Solo Diabate may have been denied a third BAL title, but his contribution to the Libyan club's amazing run proved phenomenal. The Cote d'Ivoire international, who started the journey with Al Ahly Ly from the Road to BAL, showed he is still a force in African basketball. Diabate, who averaged 11.3 points per game and six assists for Al Ahly Ly, showed that, at 36, he can still fly with his poster dunk on Petro de Luanda's Nick Faust in the final. Devine Eke (Rivers Hoopers) Nigeria's Devine Eke also brought energy for Rivers Hoopers to both ends of the court. Eke's exploits were part of why the Hoopers finished first in the Sahara Conference and third overall in the 2024 BAL. His average of 16 points per game, 11.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game showed the small forward's quality at the league. In the battle for third and fourth, Eke's 20 points against South Africa's Cape Town Tigers led to a third-place finish for the Hoopers. Ehab Amin (Al Ahly SC) Ehab Amin and Al Ahly SC will be disappointed that they could not defend the BAL trophy they won last year. As for Amin, he was having an excellent season until the Egyptian giants bowed out at the playoffs in their quarterfinal battle against Nile Conference opponents Al Ahly Ly. Amin’s averages of 13.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game came in handy for Al Ahly SC. Other key names that featured at BAL 2024 include DR Congo's Rolly Fula, Angola's Gerson Lukeny, Aboubacar Gakou and Yanick Moreira, Cote d'Ivoire's Mike Fofana, South Sudan's Majok Deng, Morocco's John Wilkins, Ayoub Nouhi, Abdelhakim Zouita, Yacine Baeri and Soufiane Benmhine, Libya's Ghaithy Almaghribi, South Africa's Nkosinathi Sibanyoni, Senegal's Jean Jacques Boissy, Niger's Abdoulaye Harouna and Egypt's Patrick Gardner.
