The 2026 Basketball Africa League Playoffs tipped off Friday at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, as eight teams begin the race for the championship crown ahead of the Finals set for Sunday, May 31 at 6:00 p.m. CAT.
The postseason field includes Al Ahly of Egypt, Al Ahly Ly of Libya, ASC Ville de Dakar of Senegal, Club Africain of Tunisia, Dar City of Tanzania, FUS Rabat of Morocco, 2024 champions Petro de Luanda of Angola, and Rwanda’s RSSB Tigers. The top four teams will advance to the single-game semifinals and Finals.
The league enters its decisive phase after a season marked by record-setting milestones across attendance, viewership, and individual performances.
BAL social media channels generated more than 722 million views heading into the Playoffs, the most ever for group-phase play. The league also reported a 1,000% year-over-year increase in total watch time on BAL.NBA.com and the NBA App, while games reached fans in 214 countries and territories, including all 54 African nations.
Attendance also surged across the regular season. Nearly 75,000 fans attended the Kalahari Conference and Sahara Conference group phases in South Africa and Morocco, respectively, setting a record for group-phase attendance in those countries.
On the court, the 2026 season produced several historic moments. Petro de Luanda’s Childe Dundão became the BAL’s all-time minutes leader on April 5, reaching 1,073 minutes across six seasons. Al Ahly Ly and Dar City combined for a BAL-record 215 points in a March 31 meeting, while RSSB Tigers guard Craig Randall II scored a league-record 54 points in a loss to Dar City on April 4.
The league also celebrated its 200th game on April 1, when Petro de Luanda beat Nairobi City Thunder 97-70. On May 3, Al Ahly edged FUS Rabat 77-71 in the second double-overtime game in BAL history.
A record 30 players who competed at FIBA AfroBasket 2025 are in the Playoffs, and 11 of the 16 teams from that tournament have at least one player still active in the BAL postseason. Eight former NBA players also featured in the league this season, the most in BAL history.
