The BAL Kalahari Conference media day took place in Pretoria where each head coach came out to speak to the media with their senior players. This was an opportunity for the media to connect with and pick the brains of these key people in order to get an idea of what the conference holds. The RSSB Tigers were the only team absent as they only left Kigali on March 25.
Last Updated on
March 27, 2026
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The perineal powerhouse of African basketball opened the proceedings with coach Sergio Valdelmillos and Aboubacar Gakou alongside him. The Angolan side have set a record as the only team to have taken part in all editions of the BAL. They are three-time finalists and 2024 champions. Coach Valdemillos believes that their track record is the reason they have target on their backs and that teams will do extensive scouting inpreparation for their games.
Coach Valdelmillos lamented the fact that they lost in the 2025 finalls due to the breakdown of their defensive discipline and that it is their focus coming into this edition. He added that he cannot guarantee dominance as the BAL gets more and more competitive each year but that their advantage is the fact that they build their team around their local talent where guys play together for ten months with the addition of only one or two imports in specialist positions.
As for Gakou on his unprecedented run (playing in his sixth edition, having gone to three finals, being a BAL and AfroBasket champion), he says that he is proud of his teammates as none of these achievements would have been possible without them. He added that their advantage is that they do not only have one play or player but that they have multiple key players and it becomes difficult for teams to prepare against them. However, they remain resolute in their quest for a second BAL title.
BAL debutants having qualified through the eastern division after defeating Ferroviario da Beira in the third and fourth playoff game. Under the tutelage of coach Pabi Gueye. He praised his organization for organizing a successful training camp in Zanzibar. He admitted that the level of play of the local players was not where it needed to be so they went into camp a month prior to the imports arriving. This is because of his heavy reliance on the import players during the Road To BAL.
He said that he is happy to take on such a challenge - taking an average team and making them into a powerful name on the continent. He did so with AS Douanes of Senegal where he led them to a BAL final in 2023. He emphasized that there is no superstar on the team and that the team is the superstar so he will play the best performing players regardless of their accolades.
He touched on the importance of being an African coach succeeding in such a space:
Everyone knows that I am an open person and there is no discrimination in sports. The door is open to everyone, however, it is important to give the opportunity to Africans as this is their home. That is how we now have players like Boissy (2025 BAL MVP and champion) and Khaman Maluach (Phoenix Suns center).
As for his captain and center, Hasheem Thabeet, he had a lot to say about the importance of his role as a player and presiden of the national federation. He recently had his jersey retired at the coveted University of Connecticut (UConn). He said he was transitioning into being a coach before he was reminded that he still has so much more to offer so that is why he is lacing up. He wants to inspire the youth of Tanzania and to give them an opportunity to watch him play since most of them were too young when he was drafted in the NBA in 2009 as the second overall pick. He reiterated that Tanzanian basketball and Dar City are here to stay.
The 2024 finalists dethroned the 2025 champions in the Libyan league. They went 7-0 in the Road To BAL and have had a great start in the Libyan league. Coach Ahmed Soliman, who coached Al Ittihad of Egypt last year, has taken the helm in Benghazi and could not praise his players' work ethic enough. He acknowledged that he is in a pretty good spot with the past two BAL MVPs on his side (Jo Lual Acuil and JJ Boissy). However, he is cautious of the team chemistry as some players have still not arrived.
Coach Soliman thanked the management of Al Ahly Ly for organizing a successful 14-day camp in Istanbul. He spoke about the dangers of getting comofortable when one is winning. Last year, his Al Ittihad side had a perfect start in the BAL and then crumbled in the semifinals. He attributed that to fatigue as the team was still finishing their domestic league and subsequently arrived in South Africa only a day before their first match.
As for his star player and reigning MVP, Jean-Jacques Boissy, he spoke about why he left the G-League and how he approaches the game. He spoke about alway striving to be the hardest working player, as was attested by his coach. He wants to win and inspire young African players who want to make it big. He believes he is on the right path as he did not play overseas but managed to make it big from the home soil.
He touched on the G-League and also jokingly teased the African legend, Solo Diabate, when asked about receiving his BAL ring.
I left the G-League because I was not playing the way I wanted to play... I have played for so many teams and I always want to be the hardest working player... It feels good to get a ring. I was telling Solo [Solo Diabate] that he may have two championships but I have one ring. However, I have five fingers so now I have to make sure I fill them up.
Coach Bradley Ibs took on the press conference alongside his captain Tyler Ongwae. He spoke about how great their fans are back home and how they were able to maintain their undefeated record at home. He mentioned that it is a bit difficult to play without their fans. However, he highlights their failures of 2025 to a lack of preparedness.
He said that it will be difficult without their fans but they have to provide their own energy from within. He knows that they struggled to maintain the imports from Road To BAL to the actual BAL. However, they managed to keep Lance Thomas. He said it is because his style of play fits the team's and he is a great and positive presence in the locker room.
Nairobi City Thunder have emerged as a basketball powerhouse in recent years in East Africa. Coach Ibs has attributed that to the leadership and management of the club. He mentioned that they are process-oriented and took the necessary time to learn from successful clubs in Africa how to establish themselves as a powerhouse. This has tricked down from the ownership to the management to the coaching staff and players. They remain intentional about their ambitions and look to become a household name in African basketball.
The host club was represented by the head coach Flosh Ngwenya and captain Pieter Prinsloo. The two have a great relationship dating back to 2017 when they worked together in the national team at the FIBA AfroBasket in Dakar. The two spoke about their shared values for basketball and the fact that they both hate losing more than they like winning. Coach Ngwenya also spoke about Prinsloo's selfless leadership and his attention to detail.
Coach Ngwenya spoke about maintaining the same local core of players that punched their ticket to the BAL. The young team has a lot of versatility and promise and those are driving factors for what they have done and look to still accomplish. He reiterated that there is enough talent in South Africa and that they believe in their players to do well on this stage.
We know what we are doing. We selected a young team to secure the longevity of not only the club but also South African Basketball. We want to showcase the talent that we have in South Africa.
He knows that in order to qualify, it comes down to a game of numbers - how many games you need to win in order to punch a ticket ti Kigali in May - but emphasizes that his side remains focused on what they have to do. Despite having played Dar City and Nairobi in FIBA's Elite 16, he believes that both teams have also changed since then and at they remain prepared for these sides. He adds that both teams are really good but they [Giants] are in their strides and are prepared to face whoever is in front of them.
Captain, Pieter Prinsloo, spoke about the chemistry of this team and their ability to play together and for each other. He also drew comparisons with this side and those that he played for in the BAL, namely Cape Town Tigers and MBB. He said that the focus was always on the imports but that is different this time. He praised the management of this team for nurturing the local talent with the addition of two foreign players to supplement the team. '
He went further to highlight the shortcomings of Basketball South Africa (BSA). He cited:
I am not afraid to speak up but our federation [BSA] is a joke. They don't give crap about our sport. They only think about themselves. There are people who were pat of the 2017 AfroBasket team who are still owed money. They don't care about the sport, they only care about themselves. We don't have a pro league. BNL isn't a pro league, it's just not. Hopefully we can take care of this so that in two years, we can have a different conversation.
The national team captain and one of the most recognized faces in African basketball looks forward to what this season has to offer and promises that they will play with grit and grind out games where necessary but will play with swag and entertain the fans.
The BAL tips off at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South African capital. This Kalahari conference promises to be more competitive than before and something that will showcase the undeniable talent the African continent possesses.
[Imagery/Photography Courtesy of The Big Tip Off, The BAL and Africa Basket]
