BAL qualification means everything to City Oilers, Uganda

City Oilers might have won the last nine National Basketball League titles and two Fiba Zone V Club Championships, but qualifying to play in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) remains one of their most significant achievements thus far.

The BAL is the premier men's basketball league in Africa founded in 2019 by the National Basketball Association  (NBA) and International Basketball Federation (Fiba).

Having failed to get into the first two editions, the Ugandan champions eventually kicked the door open to get into Season Three after an intense Road To Bal in Cape Town, South Africa.

Six teams qualify directly, while six others have to play in the Road To BAL, and the Oilers secured their first-ever ticket after defeating Burundi's Urunani 71-62 in the bronze game of the Elite 16 Division East November 2022.

A year later, the Oilers returned to South Africa and came back home with yet another BAL ticket. They will take part in Season Four, which tips off in March.

"Going to BAL for the second year in a row means everything to us," City Oilers President Muhammad Santur noted.

"First, it shows that the team is on the right track," he added.

Best in Africa

Being the continent's prime basketball competition, the BAL attracts the top clubs in Africa to showcase the talent from across the continent.

The introduction of the league came at a time when the record champions were already dominating the league in Uganda, but the need to win locally and qualify for the BAL reignited their hunger for success.

The club had also already won two Fiba Zone V Club Championships to show their dominance, but BAL is a different ball game.

"BAL is a tournament that brings together the best teams in Africa to compete, and Oilers' goal is to one day be considered one of the biggest clubs in Africa.

"If that is our goal, then we have to be in BAL year in and year out.

"BAL is a competition that helps your young players grow and learn as professionals."

Huge for Uganda

In their maiden appearance in the BAL Regular season, the Ugandan champions lost 80-70 to the Cape Town Tigers in their last game to miss out on a ticket to the BAL in Kigali, Rwanda.

That defeat also meant that the nine-time league winners would finish the regular season bottom of the log in the Nile Conference.

But even then, Fuba President Nasser Sserunjogi believes the country's representation in the competition comes with much bigger dividends.

"It is important for Uganda to always be represented at the BAL," Sserunjogi said.

"The BAL is the biggest club championship on the continent, and every country would love to be represented. This puts Uganda's name out there for everyone to see," he added. 

"The games are live on different media platforms like ESPN, which gives great visibility and mileage.

"Locally, it is an inspiration to other clubs competing in the league to aim higher and win to be able to represent Uganda. That improves the competition because top teams sign quality players to try and overthrow City Oilers and get a chance to play BAL." 

At the moment, the Oilers are waiting to discover which Conference they will be drawn into for the regular season that tips off in March. 

BAL has expanded to South Africa for Season Four and will feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing a record 48 games across four African countries – South Africa, Egypt, Senegal and Rwanda.

The 12 teams will be divided into three conferences of four teams each. 

Each Conference will play a 12-game group phase during which each team will face the other three teams in its Conference twice. 

The top two teams from each Conference and the top two third-place teams from across the three conferences will travel to Rwanda for four seeding games followed by an eight-game single elimination Playoffs and Finals between May and June.

Basketball Africa League 

Founded: 2019

Commissioner: Amadou Gallo Fall 

Season One: 2021

Number of Teams: 12 

Conferences: Three 

Current Champions: Al Ahly (Egypt)

Previous Champions: Zamalek (Egypt -2021), US Monastir (Tunisia -2022)