KPA face Roche Bois in opening BAL qualifiers clash

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) men’s basketball side begin their hunt for an elite 16 Basketball Africa League (BAL) ticket on Friday 21 October when they take on Mauritanian side Roche-Bois Warriors who are making their debut in international basketball.

The team jetted out of the country on Sunday evening for Madagascar where their group matches will be held at the Palais des Sports Mahamasina, Antananarivo.

Under the tutelage of Cliff Owuor assisted by long-serving KPA tactician Sammy Kiki, the dockers will look to finish in the top two from the group that has four teams.

Pooled in group D, the Mombasa-based club plays Djabal Basket of Comoros Islands in their second match slated for Saturday 22 October before completing their campaign on Sunday with a clash against hosts Club Omnisport de La Police Nationale (COSPN).

The top two teams in the group join Ferroviario da Beira of Mozambique, Cape Town Tigers of South Africa, Cobra Sports of South Sudan and the top two teams in group C for the elite 16 group F set for Johannesburg in November.

KPA jet out for BAL qualifiers

More action will be witnessed in Niamey, Niger as teams in groups A battle for their slots in the Elite 16 in a round-robin competition system.

Group A games will take place at Palais du 29 Juillet in Niamey. Teams drawn in Group A are hosts AS Nigelec, Stade Malien from Mali, Abidjan Basket Club of Cote d'Ivoire and Benin’s Elan Coton.

The action follows the qualification of Bangui Sporting Club from Central African Republic and Nueva Era Basket Club of Equatorial Guinea who clinched Group B's two tickets for the Elite 16 last week in Yaounde, Cameroon.

The teams that finish in the top two places of group A will qualify for the elite 16 round to be held in November in Cote d'Ivoire. The two join AS Sale of Morocco, Cameroon’s FAP, Guinea’s champions, Bangui Sporting Club and Nueva Era.