Al Ahly SC secured the first Basketball Africa League (BAL) semi-final ticket after beating ASC Ville de Dakar 87-76 in a strong second leg held at BL Arena on Sunday. The Egyptian champions took to the court needing to overcome their three-point loss in the first quarter-final series against ASC Ville de Dakar, and they achieved just with an 11-point gap in the second leg. This victory sees them advance to the final four for the first time since winning the BAL in 2023. ASC Ville de Dakar's overall nine-point loss marks the end of their season. Nuni Omot and Zack Lofton led the way for Al Ahly SC, combining for 43 points. Omot scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter. Equally vital for Al Ahly were Amr Zahran and Osayi Osifo, who finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively for Al Ahly SC. Meanwhile, Axel Toupane, who limped off the court with an apparent leg injury with 7:44minutes left, led ASC Ville de Dakar with 16 points. Al Ahly SC began their play-off campaign with a 93–90 loss to ASC Ville de Dakar, but they avoided losing two games in a row for the first time since 2024, when they were knocked out in the quarter-finals. Ville de Dakar, on the other hand, went into this decisive game on the back of four consecutive victories. However, a combination of excessive fouls in the fourth quarter, Toupane’s hamstring injury, and Al Ahly SC’s extended zone defence proved too much for the Senegalese champions. Their dream of becoming the second Senegalese team to reach the semi-finals since AS Douanes in 2023 ended in disappointment. Dakar led for most of the second half, but a 13-7 scoring run by Al Ahly SC in the final five minutes changed the course of the game. Notably, no player scored in single digits in the first half. Al Ahly SC will now take on the winner of the game between RSSB Tigers and FUS Rabat in the semi-finals.
