Four Senegalese Basketball talents are among the thirty-four players selected to participate in the 2025 “Combine” of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), a key event which takes place starting this Friday in Rabat, Morocco. According to the Senegalese Press Agency (APS), these young international basketball hopefuls, Cheikh Ndiaye, Makhtar Gueye, Mamadou Mbengue and Mohamed Doumbia, proudly represent Senegal during this gathering.
Organized by the NBA, the BAL “Combine” is a selection camp intended to identify the best players for the upcoming season of this prestigious African competition. During the three days of this camp, planned in the Ibn Yassine sports hall, 34 aspirants from various countries, including the United States, Europe, and other regions of the world, will compete.
The selection of the four Senegalese players, which includes Cheikh Ndiaye of Long Island University in the United States, Makhtar Gueye of AS Ville de Dakar, as well as free agents Mamadou Mbengue and Mohamed Doumbia, was confirmed in a statement on Friday of the BAL relayed by the APS. This dynamic group will be joined by six other African players, illustrating the diversity of talent present.
The fifth edition of the Basketball Africa League looks promising, starting on April 5, 2025 in Rabat and concluding on June 14 in Pretoria, South Africa. For the first time, Morocco will host this major event, notably at the Moulay-Abdallah sports complex, while South Africa, home of the last edition, will host the final at the SunBet Arena.
-This event will bring together twelve teams representing different African countries, including the national champions of Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia, who will automatically advance to the tournament. Five more clubs will emerge from qualifying tournaments organized by FIBA Africa between October and December 2024, creating intense competition for available places.
The matches will take place in several cities, with forty-eight matches scheduled in Rabat, Dakar, Kigali and Pretoria. Each group will compete in three separate conferences, with a first group phase comprising twelve matches for each. Qualifications for the play-offs, where eight teams from the three conferences hope to triumph, will take place in Pretoria from June 6, with the final taking place on June 14.
Since its inauguration in 2021, the Basketball Africa League has become an essential competition in Africa, the result of the collaboration between FIBA Africa and NBA Africa. History has already been made with the victories of Zamalek (Egypt) in 2021, US Monastir (Tunisia) in 2022, Al Ahly (Egypt) in 2023, and Petro de Luanda (Angola) in 2024 This competition continues to strengthen ties between Africa and the NBA, providing an unparalleled springboard for the continent’s talents. »
