BAL: Who are the potential contenders for the first two tickets

The real battle for a spot in Basketball Africa League (BAL) season three has reached a defining moment. Four teams: Bangui Sporting Club, Seydou Legacy Athletique Club (SLAC), Stade Malien and Abidjan Basket Club (ABC), are set for what promises to be a titanic semi-final of the West Division Elite 16 on Friday November 18. All four teams made it thus far due to their resilience from the group phase of the Road to BAL West Division Elite 16 Round in Cote D'Ivoire city of Abidjan. The first semi-finals will see Group A leader Bangui Sporting Club engage Group B runners-up SLAC at 16H30. Both sides have something in common and the same goal. They are evenly-matched in terms of personnel to help execute their set objective of getting the desired result. A win for either side guarantees a ticket to the 2023 BAL season. Rising from a perfect finish during the group stage, Bangui Sporting Club will want to make a statement that they are a side not to overlook having kept a clean slate from the qualifiers in Yaounde, Cameroon in October. The Bangui-based side will bank on the team's chemistry among their top players led by Rolly Fula to give them victory over Coach Zeljko Zecevic's SLAC. Fula has averaged 17 points per game, so far. The DR Congo international will be expected to carry on just as he has done in the last three games in Abidjan and will be expected to be joined in the quest for a place in Kigali, in 2023, by Jimmy Djimbrabaye, Kenneth Gasana and Kendall Gray. Seydou Legacy Athletique Club who edged FAP 85-75 on November 16, to book a place in the Semi-Finals, will draw strength from their quartet led by Dane Miller Jr who poured 22 points and 14 rebounds past the Cameroonian side to get this far. Other players Coach Zecevic will look up for a safe landing include Michael Poole, Emeka Michael Nwabuzor and block shots master Christopher Obekpa. The second semi-finals are also expected to produce some fire power as ABC, who made it to the last four with a 1-2 mark, take on fiery Stade Malien, one of the most effective teams in the West Division. It will be the second time both sides will be engaging each other in the qualifiers with ABC running away with a 66-54 win on October 14, in Niamey, Niger. Both sides parade some good hands who can deliver. While ABC will rely on home support, Coach Franck Silva will also bank on James Marquis Alvarez Westbrook, Mike Fofana, Moussa Kone and dependable team captain Stephane Konate to match up to Stade Malien's Aliou Fadiala Diarra, Souleymane Berthe, free scoring Mamadou Keita and Oumar Bagayoko to continue their smooth run as BAL Season 3 tickets beckon.

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BAL: Who are the potential contenders for the first two tickets