Rwanda’s representatives Patriots Basketball Club have been drawn in Group A, alongside Tunisian side US-Monastir, Nigerian champions Rivers Hoopers and GNBC (Madagascar) ahead of the much-anticipated Basketball Africa (BAL) League slated for May 16-30 in Kigali. Only 15 days to the kick-off, all games will be held at the state-of-the-art Kigali Arena. The two-week tournament will see 12 clubs from 12 different African countries rub shoulders in Kigali. Patriots BBC will be fighting for the pride to play for the host nation and will be seeking to make the most of home advantage. In other groups, Angolan giants Petro de Luanda have been placed in Group B along with AS Salé, AS Police and Forces Armées et Police Basketball (FAP) while Zamalek, AS Douanes, Ferroviário de Maputo and GS Pétroliers found themselves in Group C. The inaugural BAL will feature a total of 26 games, including 18 in the group stage. The top two teams from each group and two best second runners-up will advance to the playoffs phase, which will be a single knockout format in the subsequent three rounds; quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the third-place game and the final. All twelve participating teams are supposed to have arrived in Kigali by May 7. The continental showpiece, the first professional league to be run by NBA outside North America, will be played under strict Covid-19 guidelines. Groups were formed as follow: Group A: US Monastir (Tunisia), Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria), Patriots BBC (Rwanda) and GNBC (Madagascar) Group B: Petro de Luanda (Angola), AS Salé (Maroc), AS Police (Mali) and FAP (Cameroun) Group C: Zamalek (Egypt), AS Douanes (Senegal), Ferroviário de Maputo (Mozambique) and GS Pétroliers (Algeria)
