Rwandan shooting guard Justin Uwitonze will be part of the Spintex Knights squad that will compete in the qualifying rounds of the 2027 Basketball Africa League (BAL). The Round of 16 games will tip off on October 21 and conclude with the Elite 16 tournaments in November. Uwitonze, 25, is expected to leave Rwanda for Ghana on October 11 to join his new teammates and begin preparations for the qualifiers. The Ghanaian champions have competed in Group B at various stages of the Road to BAL qualifiers, making history as the first Ghanaian team to reach the Elite 16 round. Group A October 21–25, Tripoli, Libya — West Division Al Ittihad (Libya) Stade Malien (Mali) Nadi Staouedi (Algeria) Nabaya (Guinea) Kriol Star (Cape Verde) The top two teams will qualify for the Elite 16 West Division. Group B October 21–25, Tripoli, Libya — West Division Energie BC (Benin) AS Douanes (Burkina Faso) Spintex Knights (Ghana) NPA Pythons (Liberia) Red Flames (Sierra Leone) The top two teams will qualify for the Elite 16 West Division. Group C October 24–28, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo — West Division ASB Onatra (DR Congo) FAP (Cameroon) Espoir Basketball (Gabon) Avenir du Rail (Republic of the Congo) The top two teams will qualify for the Elite 16 West Division. Group D October 21–25, Hoima, Uganda — East Division Urunani (Burundi) Patriots Basketball Club (South Sudan) Namuwongo Blazers (Uganda) COSPN (Madagascar) Ushundzi Basket (Comoros) The top two teams will qualify for the Elite 16 East Division. Group E October 27–31, Lusaka, Zambia — East Division Munali Suns (Zambia) Bravehearts (Malawi) Ferroviario da Beira (Mozambique) Harare Kings (Zimbabwe) TBD (South Africa) The top two teams will qualify for the Elite 16 East Division. Elite 16 Round As in 2024, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nairobi, Kenya, have been selected to host the Elite 16 tournaments. Nairobi will host the East Division Elite 16 from November 17–22, while Abidjan will host the West Division Elite 16 from November 10–15. The top two teams from each division will qualify for the 2027 BAL season. The JCA Kings, who made their BAL debut earlier this year, will host the West Division Elite 16 tournament.
