{"id":40009,"date":"2023-04-17T16:06:01","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T16:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/bal-2023-5-nile-conference-players-to-watch"},"modified":"2023-04-17T16:41:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T16:41:48","slug":"bal-2023-5-nile-conference-players-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/bal-2023-5-nile-conference-players-to-watch","title":{"rendered":"BAL 2023: 5 Nile Conference players to watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The Nile Conference action of the Basketball African League (BAL) regular season is nine days away from hitting the ground at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo as six teams prepare to fight for the remaining four play-off slots.<\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s Al Ahly, Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), BAL 2022 runners-up Petro de Luanda (Angola), City Oilers (Uganda), Ferrovia\u0301rio da Beira (Mozambique) and Seydou Legacy Athle\u0301tique Club (Guinea) are the clubs that will be battling for supremacy at the Nile Conference which will run through May 6.<\/p>\n

The top four teams from the conference will join Rwanda Energy Group (REG), AS Douanes from Senegal, ABC Fighters from Cote d\u2019Ivoire, and Stade Malien from Mali, who qualified through the Sahara Conference, for the playoffs that will take place at BK Arena from 21-27 May.<\/p>\n

In this article, Times Sport presents you some five star players to look out for at the Nile Conference.<\/p>\n

Ater Majok \u2013 Petro de Luanda, Angola<\/b><\/p>\n

Winner of the BAL 2022 Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the year award, Ater James Majok will be playing for Petro de Luanda, an Angolan side that has quite improved itself this season.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old South Sudanese is well known at the BAL, having played in the first two editions and put up great performances that inspired Tunisia\u2019s US Monastir to the championship in 2022. He was also part of the Tunisian side that lost the title to Zamalek in the BAL\u2019s inaugural season in 2021.<\/p>\n

During the previous tournament of the BAL, Majok recorded 11 rebounds per game on average, 2.4 blocks and 13.6 points.<\/p>\n

Germaine Roebuck Jr \u2013 City Oilers, Uganda<\/b><\/p>\n

The American point guard is one of the players that Ugandan Champions City Oilers will be counting on during the BAL Nile Conference regular season.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old is strong and plays with pace. Though this is a debut season for him and his counterparts, he is one of the players that can shine in the Nile Conference.<\/p>\n

In October last year, he announced his arrival at City Oilers with a superb performance in their opening game of the BAL Qualifiers at Benjamin Mkapa Indoor Stadium against Zambia\u2019s Matero Magic as he dropped 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.<\/p>\n

Born in Champaign Illinois, Roebuck Jr played basketball at Champaign central high school and later joined Calumet College – a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school.<\/p>\n

Walter Hodge \u2013 Al Ahly, Egypt<\/b><\/p>\n

Walter Hodge \u2013 the man who led Zamalek to the title of the first BAL season in 2021 \u2013 is now back to the African club basketball stage with Al Ahly.<\/p>\n

During the first season of the BAL he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). The Puerto Rican veteran point guard averaged 15.5 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.0 rebounds.<\/p>\n

William Perry – Ferrovia\u0301rio da Beira, Mozambique<\/b><\/p>\n

Perry is back with Mozambican side Ferrovia\u0301rio da Beira after an impressive month with Kigali Titans in January in the league.<\/p>\n

He brings vast experience garnered from clubs for which he has previously featured including Lenoir-Rhyne College in his native USA, as well as clubs in Portuguese and Spanish lower leagues.<\/p>\n

He is a good shooter after the dribble, and a decent pick-and-roll player.<\/p>\n

Souleyman Diabate \u2013 Petro de Luanda, Angola<\/b><\/p>\n

Ivorian star point guard Souleyman Diabate will be with Angola\u2019s Petro de Luanda this season.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old spent 15 years playing overseas with countries like France, where his pro career started, Macedonia and China.<\/p>\n

While Diabate had a solid playing career abroad, his return to Africa has yielded spectacular returns and enhanced his reputation as a winner.<\/p>\n

The 1.83m (6 ft0) floor general helped Egyptian giants Zamalek capture the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) title two years ago. A year later, he would become the only player to win back-to-back BAL titles, this time with Tunisia\u2019s US Monastir.<\/p>\n\r\n