 Finals, which took place at BK Arena){kind=link}
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Tunisia’s US Monastir defeated Angola’s Petro de Luanda 83-72 to win the 2022 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Finals, which took place at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda and was broadcast to fans in 215 countries and territories.
Following the game, BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall presented US Monastir with the BAL Finals Trophy and US Monastir guard Michael Dixon with the Hakeem Olajuwon BAL Most Valuable Player award. Dixon recorded per-game averages of 16.5 points and 4.1 assists and a team-high 21.3 points per game during the Playoffs.
2022 BAL Champion US Monastir went 7-1 during the Sahara Conference group phase and Playoffs, defeating South Africa’s Cape Town Tigers and Egypt’s Zamalek in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to advance to the Finals. Zamalek defeated Cameroon’s F.A.P 97-74 in the third-place game.
Read Also: Basketball Africa League unveils Sahara Conference rosters ahead of 2022 season
NBA Global Ambassador and NBA Africa investor Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of the Congo), BAL Global Ambassador and NBA Africa investor Luol Deng (South Sudan), NBA Africa investors Joakim Noah (U.S.; ties to Cameroon) and Ian Mahinmi (France; ties to Benin), Olumide Oyedeji (Nigeria) and Charles Smith (U.S.) were among the former NBA players who attended games throughout the Playoffs.
Following the third-place game, the league announced several end-of-season awards, some of which honour pioneering African NBA legends:
2022 BAL Coach of the Year
José Neto (Petro de Luanda) led his team to a 4-1 record in the Nile Conference before defeating Morocco’s AS Salé and Cameroon’s F.A.P to advance to the Finals.
2022 Dikembe Mutombo BAL Defensive Player of the Year
Ater James Majok (US Monastir) helped lead his team to a 7-1 record and the championship after recording per game averages of 11 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 13.6 points.
2022 Manute Bol BAL Sportsmanship Award
Anas Mahmoud (Zamalek), who last year won the Dikembe Mutombo BAL Defensive Player of the Year following Zamalek’s win in the inaugural BAL Finals, received the Manute Bol BAL Sportsmanship Award for exemplifying the ideals of sportsmanship and camaraderie.
2022 BAL Scoring Champion
Terrel Stoglin (AS Salé) averaged a league-high 30.8 points throughout the 2022 BAL season (minimum of six games).