Africa-Press – Rwanda. The Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs have arrived in Pretoria! Action starts Friday, June 6, with seeding games, also known as which will decide how teams are paired in the quarterfinals.
Introduced in 2024, the seeding system doesn’t eliminate any team. Instead, it helps rank the teams based on performance; so stronger teams are matched against lower-ranked ones in the next round.
Teams with top regular season results will go up against those ranked just below them, and so on.
Al Ahli Tripoli are ranked No.1 after winning all six of their regular season games and having a better point differential than No.2 Al Ittihad Alexandria, who also finished undefeated in six regular season games.
In the seeding game round, Tripoli will face Al Ittihad on Friday while, on the same day, Kriol Star will play FUS Rabat.
Petro de Luanda will Saturday, June 7, take on APR and US Monastir will go up against Rivers Hoopers. All games will take place at SunBet Arena in Pretoria.
Kriol Star (7) vs FUS Rabat (8) – Friday, June 6
These two teams have never faced each other before due to their different realities.
FUS Rabat, who won the 2024 Kalahari Conference in Pretoria, automatically qualified for this BAL season. They hosted the 2025 Kalahari Conference in April in Rabat.
On the other hand, Kriol Star overcame challenges in the Road to BAL qualifier to become the first basketball club from the Cape Verde Islands to qualify for BAL.
On the final day of the Sahara Conference in Dakar, Kriol Star caused a stir by beating reigning champions, Petro de Luanda, 71-69 in overtime.
Despite stepping on the court with a short-handed roster, the Cape Verdeans were an improbable winner. Their unexpected tenacity and determination caused the season’s biggest surprise result.
Both FUS Rabat (2–4) and Kriol Star (3–3) adjusted their rosters for the postseason.
At first glance, the biggest difference between the two teams may be FUS Rabat’s taller, more productive front-court.
Al Ahli Tripoli (1) vs Al Ittihad Alexandria (2) – Friday, June 6
For some, this match-up is still considered a possible championship game this season.
These are two high-scoring teams with some of the best players in the league.
Interestingly, both teams are making their debuts in the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Al Ahli Tripoli qualified via the Road to BAL qualifiers, finishing 7-0. Al Ittihad, meanwhile, qualified automatically as the Egyptian champions.
Before Al Ahli Tripoli made 20 three-pointers in a 115-87 win over Nairobi City Thunder on May 18 in Kigali and US Monastir made 17, Al Ittihad held the season record of 16 three-pointers, set in a 100-80 win over Rivers Hoopers on April 8 in Rabat.
Expect a high-scoring game.
Petro de Luanda (5) vs APR (6) – Saturday, June 7
Both Petro de Luanda and APR finished their regular seasons with similar 3-3 records.
Petro de Luanda arrived in Pretoria as the reigning BAL champions, while APR are making their first appearance in the BAL postseason and they are eager to make history, as evidenced by the signing of 2023 BAL MVP, Nuni Omot.
APR appear to have an advantage in the front-court, which could decide this match-up.
Historically, Petro de Luanda and APR have only faced off once. That occurred in the 2009 FIBA Africa Champions Cup, where the Angolan giants defeated APR 84-69 in the group phase. They eventually finished second in the tournament, which took place in Kigali, Rwanda, well ahead of APR who finished third.
US Monastir (3) vs Rivers Hoopers (4) -Saturday, June 7
When one uncovers the BAL history of US Monastir and Rivers Hoopers, the first thing that comes to mind is that there’s unfinished business between the two teams which have faced off four times in BAL, with each side winning twice.
It all started in the BAL inaugural season when US Monastir dispatched the Hoopers 99–70 in Kigali.
Three years later, in 2024, the Hoopers returned to the league, and the two teams split their games in the Sahara Conference in Dakar. Then, the Hoopers defeated the US Monastir 92-88 in the quarterfinals in Kigali.
Both teams arrived in Pretoria with similar 4–2 records, making this one of the most anticipated games of the seeding round.
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