APR basketball club play their opening game of the Nile Conference on Saturday, May 17 at 5:30 pm (Kigali-Time) Vs Nairobi City Thunder in Kigali. After a disappointing show last season, the Rwandan champions are back to the big stage with pressure, yes, but looking write a new chapter in the franchise after making major trades to boost their firepower in an attempt to get ready to rub shoulders with some of Africa’s best. Scheduled to take place from May 17 to 25, the Nile Conference is bringing together four teams to Kigali with two slots up for grabs for the BAL Playoff which will take place in Pretoria, South Africa, in June. Besides home side APR, Kenya’s Nairobi City Thunder, Al Ahli Tripoli (Libya) and South Africa’s Made By Basketball (MBB) also have eyes on the playoffs. Times Sport looks at key players to watch out for at the Nile Conference in Kigali. Aliou Diarra (APR) If any player needs no introduction to BAL, it's Malian power forward Aliou Diarra. In his BAL debut in 2023, the 2.05m star helped Stade Malien secure third place and won the Defensive Player of the Year award. Diarra excels on both ends of the floor, scoring or protecting the rim with a unique ferocity. It's no wonder he's on his third BAL team after playing with Morocco’s FUS Rabat in 2024. Tylor Ongwae (Nairobi City Thunder) Ongwae, arguably the most celebrated Kenyan player in modern times who spent a significant part of his professional career in Europe, helping German team Niners Chemnitz win the 2024 FIBA Europe Cup, is back in the BAL. He is best remembered in the African basketball scene for his buzzer-beating three-pointer that secured a 74-73 victory over Angola in the 2021 AfroBasket qualifiers. This victory secured Team Morans a place at the 2021 AfroBasket and was Kenya’s first win over the eleven-time African champions. Ongwae played for the Ivorian team ABC Fighters in the 2023 BAL season, but they lost to Petro de Luanda in the quarterfinals. Robinson Opong (MBB) Opong is an exceptional three-point shooter who is on his way to his third BAL season. He played for Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers in the inaugural BAL season in 2021, and then for City Oilers in 2024. Opong currently holds the AfroBasket Qualifiers record for the most three-pointers made in a single game (9). Caleb Agada (Al Ahli Tripoli) Agada, a 2021 Tokyo Olympian with Nigeria, seems to have stolen the heart of Al Ahli Tripoli coach Abou Chacra Fouad during the second round of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers in Tripoli earlier this year. Agada led Nigeria to a 3-0 record, helping the former African champions reverse a 0-3 record from the first round and qualify for the African Championship in Angola in August. In the game against Libya, coached by Fouad, Agada finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists, helping Nigeria upset the hosts 75–70. In three qualifier games, the 31-year-old guard averaged 19 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. This will be Agada’s BAL debut.
