Who won what in Basketball Africa League?

Al Ahly were crowned Basketball Africa League champions after beating AS Douanes in the final /COURTESY PICTURE

BAL Who won what in Basketball Africa League?

Ndyamuhaki J Emanzi 10:18 - 29.05.2023

The most significant award went to Al Ahly forward Nuni Omot, whose game-high 22 points in the final played a massive role in handing Ahly the trophy.

Egyptian side Al Ahly became the third team to win the Basketball Africa League following their dominant 80-65 win over Senegal's AS Douanes in Saturday's final in Kigali, Rwanda.

Playing in their debut season of the coveted league, Al Ahly only lost one game in eight (7-1) en route to the title.

But away from team success, some individuals excelled throughout the competition, and these were recognised for their efforts.

MVP Omot

The most significant award went to Al Ahly forward Nuni Omot, whose game-high 22 points in the final played a massive role in handing Ahly the trophy.

He was named the 2023 BAL Most Valuable Player.

The South Sudanese forward averaged 18.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists throughout the season and was a big part of whatever Ahly did.

The forward was also named on All-BAL First Team alongside AS Douanes' Marcus Crawford and Jean Jacques Boissy, Aliou Diarra (Stade Malien) and Dane Miller (SLAC).

Manute Bol award

The Manute Bol Award is given to a player who scores the most three-point shots in a game.

William Perry took home the Manute Bol Award /COURTESY PICTURE

Ferroviario da Beira guard William Perry went away with this award, having set the record for most three-points made in a single game.

He did this in Beira's 102-92 win over SLAC and received the Manute Bol Sportsmanship Award.

Defensive Player of the Year

Mali's Aliou Diarra was easily one of the top performers of the 2023 BAL season and went home with the Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the Year.

Stade Malien's Aliou Diarra averaged a double-double in each of the eight games played /COURTESY PICTURE

Diarra averaged a double-double of 18.3 points and 12.8 rebounds, adding 2.3 blocks per game.

He also became the first player in the BAL competition to record eight straight double-doubles.

His 25 points and 12 rebounds helped Stade Malien defeat Petro de Luanda 73-65 to finish third in the competition.

All-BAL Defensive Team

The All-BAL Defensive Team consisted of Childe Dundao (Petro de Luanda), Jean Jacques Boissy (AS Douanes), Samkelo Celo (Cape Town Tigers), Aliou Diarra (Stade Malien) and Ater Majok (Petro de Luanda).

Coach of the year

Mamadou Gueye was named the 2023 BAL Coach of the Year 24 hours before his team faced Al Ahly in the final.

Mamadou Gueye helped AS Douanes to a 5-3 record and eliminated favourites Petro de Luanda /COURTESY PICTURE

The AS Douanes head coach helped his team recover from a sluggish 0-2 start to the Sahara Conference all the way to the final.

The team qualified for the playoffs after defeating US Monastir in their final regular season game, and their fairytale continued up to the final.

Douanes defeated Mozambique's Ferroviário da Beira in the quarter-final and Petro de Luanda in the semis to advance to the final.

Gueye finished the 2023 season with a 5-3 record.

Scoring record

City Oilers guard Falando Jones won the scoring title of the 2023 BAL season.

City Oilers' guard Falando Jones led scorers with an average of 21.6 points /COURTESY PICTURE

Despite the Ugandan side playing just the five regular season games, Jones led scorers by averaging 21.6 points per game.

City Oilers failed to make the playoffs after a disappointing 1-4 record in the Nile Conference.

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