January, 31 2023.
Nigeria representative at this year’s edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Kwara Falcons intensified preparation for the NBA supported Continental club basketball tournament, in Ilorin.
A Club statement released on all media channels of the 2022 Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Premier League Champions, had it that the most of the players returned on schedule, from Monday last week, and the players have converged on the club's training court, on daily basis, as expected of them.
There, they met with their Head Coach, Baba Jubril and his backroom staffs to discuss the modalities and scope of the camping, as well as agree on a roadmap for the forthcoming event.
Kwara Falcons are taking part in their first ever BAL, so the management of the club is putting heads together to work modalities for the inclusion of the allowed number of foreign professionals, to strengthen their team youthful and inexperienced roaster.
The infighting and leadership tussle rocking the NBBF inadvertently, resulted in Nigeria not being able to present a team, at BAL Season 2 last year, but Rivers Hoopers of Port Harcourt flew the banner of the country, at the inaugural edition of the tournament, staged at the Kigali Arena, in Rwanda.
Nigeria failed to present a second representative at African biggest basketball tournament schedule for March in Senegal, despite Rivers Hoopers emerging winners of the 2022 NBBF Men’s Premier League.
The 2023 BAL Season, begins on March 11th, and ends on May 27th, 2023; with the final already scheduled for the Kigali Arena in Rwanda.
The regular season games are are to be played in Dakar, Senegal and Cairo, Egypt; and aside Kwara Falcons, the other teams making their debut at the eight team tournament are; Al Ahly of Egypt, and Stade Malien of Mali.
ABC Fighters will be the first team from Côte d'Ivoire to play in the BAL, just as City Oilers are the first team from Uganda to complete.
Others are US Monastir of Tunisia, Petro de Luanda of Angola, REG Rwandan champions, SLAC who were runners up in the Western Division, playoffs.