Basketball Africa League Unveils Nile Conference Rosters Ahead of Group Phase Tip-Off on April 26 in Cairo

Conference Opener Will Feature Egypt’s Al Ahly Making BAL Debut Against Mozambique’s CFV - Beira at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex on Wednesday, April 26 at 12 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CAT; Tickets for Nile Conference Games on Sale Now at www.BAL.NBA.com

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced the rosters of the six teams that will compete in the league’s Nile Conference group phase from April 26 - May 6 at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo, Egypt.   

The six teams – Al Ahly (Egypt), Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), City Oilers (Uganda), Club Atlético Petróleos de Luanda (Petro de Luanda; Angola), Clube Ferroviário da Beira (CFV - Beira; Mozambique) and Seydou Legacy Athlétique Club (S.L.A.C; Guinea) – collectively feature 78 players from 15 countries across Africa, Oceania, and the U.S., including two former NBA players, nine players with NBA G League experience, 20 former NCAA Division I players, six NBA Academy Africa prospects, and 15 former Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa campers. Al Ahly and the City Oilers will be making their BAL debut, while the Cape Town Tigers, CFV - Beira and S.L.A.C are returning for the second consecutive season. 2022 runner-up Petro de Luanda has participated in all three BAL seasons.

In the conference opener, Al Ahly will take on CFV - Beira at 12 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CAT on Canal+, ESPN, NBA TV, Visionary TV, Voice of America (VOA) and select free-to-air channels across the continent. The game will also livestream on the NBA App. Fans can view the complete Nile Conference game schedule and purchase tickets.

The 12 BAL teams have once again been divided into two conferences – the Sahara Conference and the Nile Conference. Each conference plays a 15-game group phase during which each team plays the five other teams in its conference once. The top four teams from the Nile Conference group phase will join Abidjan Basket Club (ABC Fighters; Côte d’Ivoire), AS Douanes (Senegal), Rwanda Energy Group (REG; Rwanda) and Stade Malien (Mali) in the BAL Playoffs, which will feature a single-elimination tournament and Finals at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda in May.

Below please find select BAL Nile Conference player and coach storylines:

Josh Hall (Cape Town Tigers) played 21 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2020-21 NBA season.

Michael Gbinije (Cape Town Tigers) was the No. 49 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons and played in nine games for the Pistons during the 2016-2017 season. He won the 2015 FIBA AfroBasket Championship as a member of the Nigeria Men’s National Team.

Ater Majok (Petro de Luanda) was the No. 58 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. Majok, who won the 2022 BAL Finals and Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the Year Award as a member of US Monastir, is competing in his third BAL season.

In addition to signing Majok, Petro de Luanda signed 2022 BAL champion Souleymane Diabate. Majok and Diabate join 2022 All-BAL First Team member Carlos Morais and 2022 All-BAL Defensive Team members Childe Dundão and Abou Gakou. A number of Petro de Luanda players previously represented their respective national teams in FIBA Basketball World Cup tournaments, including Diabate (Côte d’Ivoire; 2010 and 2019) and Dundão (Angola; 2017 FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup).

Petro de Luanda shooting guard Carlos Morais is one of the most accomplished players in the history of Angolan basketball. He is an eight-time Angolan League champion, a three-time Angolan Cup winner, and represented Angola in three FIBA Basketball World Cups (2006, 2010, 2019) and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He was also named Most Valuable Player of the 2012 FIBA Africa Champions Cup. Morais played in three preseason games with the Toronto Raptors in 2013.

Former New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and NBA G League Ignite assistant coach Rasheed Hazzard will serve as head coach of the Cape Town Tigers. Hazzard was also an assistant coach for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers when they won the 2021-22 G League Championship. He will coach alongside South Africa’s Flosh Ngwenya, who led the team during the Road to the BAL qualifiers last November.

Tigers guard Zaire Wade most recently played for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League. Zaire is the son of three-time NBA champion and 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Dwyane Wade.  

Al Ahly forward Anunwa “Nuni” Omot made history with the South Sudan National Team when the team qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time earlier this year. He was South Sudan’s leading scorer throughout their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Six Al Ahly players were part of the Egypt National Team that qualified for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. In addition, Al Ahly guard Amr Gendy represented Egypt in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and guard Corey Webster represented his native New Zealand in two FIBA Basketball World Cups (2014 and 2019).

NBA Academy Africa prospect Dramane Camara, who is playing for Al Ahly as part of the BAL Elevate program, recently committed to DePaul University and is set to join the Blue Demons ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Below are the nine former NBA G League players competing in the Nile Conference group phase

Team

Player

Country

Last G League Team

Al Ahly

  Anunwa Omot

  South Sudan

  Lakeland Magic

CFV - Beira

  Najeal Young

  U.S.

  Santa Cruz Warriors

Cape Town Tigers

  Josh Hall

  U.S.

  Grand Rapids Gold

Cape Town Tigers

  Michael Gbinije

  U.S. / Nigeria

  Oklahoma City Blue

Cape Town Tigers

  Zaire Wade

  U.S.

  Salt Lake City Stars

Petro de Luanda

  Ater Majok

  South Sudan

  South Bay Lakers

S.L.A.C

  Uchenna Iroegbu

  U.S. / Nigeria

  Stockton Kings

S.L.A.C

  Sedrick Barefield

  U.S.

  Oklahoma City Blue

S.L.A.C

  Dane Miller Jr.

  U.S.

  Oklahoma City Blue

 Below are the 20 former NCAA Division I players competing in the Nile Conference group phase:

Team

Player

Country

Last NCAA College/University

Al Ahly

  Anunwa Omot

  South Sudan

  Baylor University

Al Ahly

  Omar Araby

  Egypt

  University of Southern California

Al Ahly

  Michael Thompson

  U.S.

  Northwestern University

City Oilers

  James Edward Justice Jr.

  U.S.

  University of Tennessee

City Oilers

  Falando Cortez Jones

  U.S.

  Mississippi Valley State University

City Oilers

  Germaine Vashon Roebuck Jr.

  U.S.

  Judson University

City Oilers

  Ngor William Barnaba

  South Sudan

  Talladega College

CFV - Beira

  Makhtar Gueye

  Senegal

  University of Alabama, Birmingham

CFV - Beira

  William Perry

  U.S.

  Lenoir-Ryhne University

CFV - Beira

  Bourama Sidibe

  Mali

  Syracuse University

CFV - Beira

  Najeal Young

  U.S.

  University of Illinois

Cape Town Tigers

  Evans Ganapamo

  Central African Republic

  Prairie View A&M

Cape Town Tigers

  Samekelo Cele

  South Africa

  University of Science and Arts, Oklahoma

Cape Town Tigers

  Michael Gbinije

  U.S. / Nigeria

  Duke University and Syracuse University

Cape Town Tigers

  Pieter Prinsloo

  South Africa

  Marist College

Cape Town Tigers

  Dylan Whitbread

  South Africa

  Colgate University

Petro de Luanda

  Ater Majok

  South Sudan

  University of Connecticut

Petro de Luanda

  Damian Hollis

  U.S.

  George Washington University

S.L.A.C

  Sedric Barefield

  U.S.

  University of Utah

S.L.A.C

  Uchenna Iroegbu

  U.S. / Nigeria

  Stony Brook University

 Below are the six NBA Academy Africa prospects competing in the Nile Conference group phase:

Team

Player

Hometown/Country

Al Ahly

  Dramane Sayon Camara

  Bamako, Mali

Cape Town Tigers

  Parby Kabamba Musongela

  Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

City Oilers

  Segun Ezekiel Obe

  Ikeja, Nigeria

CFV - Beira

  Paul Kabenga Mbiya

  Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Petro de Luanda

  Seifeldin Hendaway

  Cairo, Egypt

S.L.A.C

  Mabilmawut Kon Mabil

  Juba City, South Sudan

 Below are the 15 former BWB Africa campers competing in the Nile Conference group phase:

Team

  Player

  Country

  BWB Camp(s)

Al Ahly

  Amro Sherif Mohamed Abdelhalim

  Egypt

  BWB Africa 2009

Al Ahly

  Omar Oraby

  Egypt

  BWB Africa 2008

City Oilers

  Baale Fayed

  Uganda

  BWB Africa 2017

City Oilers

  Jimmy Enabu

  Uganda

  BWB Africa 2007

CFV - Beira

  Luis Rafael de Barros

  Mozambique

  BWB Africa 2004

CFV - Beira

  Makhtar Gueye

  Senegal

  BWB Global 2015

CFV - Beira

  Paul Mbiya

  DRC

  BWB Africa 2022 / BWB Global 2023

Cape Town Tigers

  Liam Reid

  South Africa

  BWB Africa 2014

Cape Town Tigers

  Dylan Whitbread

  South Africa

  BWB Africa 2011

Cape Town Tigers

  Lebesa Selepe

  South Africa

  BWB Africa 2008

Cape Town Tigers

  Parby Musongela

  DRC

  BWB Africa 2022 / BWB Global 2023

Petro de Luanda

  Gerson Domingos

  Angola

  BWB Africa 2013

Petro de Luanda

  Glofate Buiamba

  Angola

  BWB Africa 2016

Petro de Luanda

  Seifeldin Hendaway

  Egypt

  BWB Africa 2022 / BWB Global 2023

S.L.A.C

  Mabilmawut Mabil

  South Sudan

  BWB Africa 2022

 The 2023 BAL season is reaching fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages through free-to-air and paid TV broadcast partnerships with the African Union of Broadcasting, American Forces Network (AFN), Canal+, ESPN (sub-Saharan Africa), NBA TV, Tencent, TV5 Monde, Visionary TV and VOA, and livestreaming on the NBA App.

*Rosters are subject to change

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Basketball Africa League (BAL).

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