So, the curtain came down on the inaugural Basketball Africa League in Kigali on Sunday, with Egyptian side Zamalek beating US Monastir of Tunisia 76-63 in a final that pitted two of the continent’s giants. The colourful finale, a culmination of a fortnight of breathtaking action involving 12 teams drawn from across the continent, marked the end of a ground-breaking showcase of African talent shown across 215 countries and territories. In BAL, African countries have a huge opportunity to not only expose its talent to the rest of the world, but also its rich and diverse cultures, traditions and values. The newly established league, an NBA affiliate, represents the enormous belief in the potential of the African youth and the latter should seize the opportunity with both hands. The confidence in the abilities of the African youth has indeed been vindicated at the first attempt, by the incredible performances throughout the inaugural Basketball Africa League finals tournament as both recognised and emerging stars of African basketball put up memorable showing at Kigali Arena. The impressive performances witnessed during the first season of BAL made a compelling case for increased investments in sports in general, and basketball in particular, both in terms of talent identification and nurturing, and infrastructure development. In the case of Rwanda, Patriots Basketball Club, which represented the country at the just-concluded competition, are an example of what it’s possible when you put your heart, mind and soul into a noble effort. That the club that was only established in 2014 managed to finish in top-four positions at such a big stage is no mean feat. It speaks to the fact that hard work indeed pays off. The relative success of the Patriots’ project is a reminder that Rwandans possess the organisational capacity, enterprise acumen and talent to step up and compete at the highest level, if only they can be deliberate and consistent with it. Still, there are plenty of lessons to be learnt from BAL Season I. For instance, we have, for the umpteenth time, learnt that grassroots programmes are key to sports success. Indeed, make no mistake – any meaningful success is built on vision, effort and the right mindset. There is a need to build professional structures, emphasise on corporate development and generally raise the bar higher. BAL 2021 should inspire a new way of thinking and doing things.
