Sixteen players from six countries who have participated over the first three seasons of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) are featured on national team rosters for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, which will be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia from Friday, Aug. 25 – Sunday, Sept. 10.
Six of the 32 participating teams, including all five national teams from Africa – Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Cape Verde and South Sudan – feature at least one player with BAL experience.
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Eleven of the 16 players with BAL experience on national team rosters participated in the 2023 BAL season that concluded in May. Four of the record-tying five African countries in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 have had their domestic league’s national champion participate over the first three seasons of the BAL (Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt and South Sudan).
New this year, the NBA App and NBA.com will carry FIBA’s digital platform, “Courtside 1891,” allowing fans in 20 countries and territories, including Angola, Cape Verde and Cote D’Ivoire, to purchase the FIBA World Cup Pass and watch the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
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Beginning with the opening games on Aug. 25 and continuing through the Final on Sept. 10, Courtside 1891’s FIBA World Cup Pass will offer fans access to live and on-demand games, extended highlights and top plays. Courtside 1891’s FIBA World Cup Pass is available for purchase at (https://apo-opa.info/452mF3W)
Additional BAL, NBA Academy Africa and Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa stats and storylines for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 include:
- 2023 BAL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Anunwa “Nuni” Omot led Al Ahly (Egypt) to the 2023 BAL Championship after helping his native South Sudan qualify for the country’s first-ever appearance in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. During the 2023 BAL season, Omot recorded per game averages of 18.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He led South Sudan in scoring during the Qualifiers, averaging 15.1 points per game.
- South Sudan’s Khaman Maluach, a 7-3 center from NBA Academy Africa, is just the third-ever 16-year-old to make a FIBA World Cup senior national team roster. Maluach became the youngest player to participate in the BAL when he played for Cobra Sport in 2022 as part of the BAL Elevate program (https://apo-opa.info/3JAQhNO)
, before returning to the league in 2023 and helping AS Douanes (Senegal) advance to the BAL Finals. - Côte d’Ivoire’s Souleyaman Diabate, who is making his third World Cup appearance, is one of two players to be a two-time BAL champion. Diabate won the inaugural BAL Finals in 2021 with Zamalek (Egypt) and the 2022 BAL Finals with US Monastir (Tunisia).
- Angola’s Childe Dundao, Gerson Domingos and Gerson Goncalves have appeared in all three BAL seasons as members of Angolan national champion Petro de Luanda. Dundao was named to the 2023 BAL All-Defensive team for the second consecutive year. In 2016, Dundao helped Angola win the FIBA U-18 African Championship, and during the Qualifiers, he led Angola with team-highs of 12.1 points and 3.6 assists per game while recording a tournament best 3.3 steals per game. Domingos, who made his World Cup debut in 2019, is a former BWB Africa camper and won the 2014 FIBA U-18 African Championship MVP.
- Egypt’s Ehab Amin, one of the most accomplished players in the history of Egyptian basketball, helped Al Ahly to win the 2023 BAL Finals with per game averages of 12.7 points and 3.9 assists. Amin averaged 14.5 points per game during the Qualifiers. He previously led Egypt to wins at the FIBA U-16 and U-18 African Championships in 2011 and 2012, respectively, and was named MVP of both tournaments.
- Egypt’s Anas Osama Mahmoud won the 2021 BAL Finals with Zamalek and was also named the 2021 BAL Dikembe Mutombo Defensive Player of the Year. Mahmoud averaged 9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game during the Qualifiers.
- Cape Verde’s Joel Almeida and Anderson Correia, both of whom played in the 2022 BAL season, led Cape Verde to its first World Cup appearance. Almeida reached the semifinals of the 2022 BAL season with Forces Armées et Police Basketball (Cameroon), averaging12.6 points per game. Correira reached the Finals with Petro de Luanda.
- New Zealand’s Corey Webster played a key role for Al Ahly during its 2023 BAL Finals run, averaging 9.9 points and 3.8 assists per game.
- Maluach is the first current NBA Academy student-athlete to compete in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
- Angola’s Gerson Domingos, Egypt’s Omar Tarek and South Sudan’s Khaman Maluach are the former Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa campers competing at the World Cup. Domingos was the camp’s MVP in 2013. Maluach was named the Kim Bohuny BWB Africa 2023 Most Valuable Player (MVP).
A total of 80 national teams across four regions – Africa, Americas, Europe and Asia (which includes Oceania) – competed in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers.
The following is a complete list of the 16 players with BAL experience on FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 rosters*:
|
National Team |
Name |
BAL Experience |
| Angola | Gerson Domingos | 2021-2023 (Petro de Luanda) |
| Angola | Childe Dundao | 2021-2023 (Petro de Luanda) |
| Angola | Gerson Lukeny Goncalves | 2021-2023 (Petro de Luanda) |
| Angola | Leonel Paulo | 2021-2022 (Petro de Luanda) |
| Cape Verde | Joel Almeida | 2022 (Forces Armées et Police Basketball) |
| Cape Verde | Anderson Correira | 2022 (Petro de Luanda) |
| Cote d’Ivoire | Souleyman Diabate | 2021 (Zamalek), 2022 (US Monastir), 2023 (Petro de Luanda) |
| Cote d’Ivoire | Mike Fofana | 2023 (Abidjan Basket Club) |
| Egypt | Amr Sherif El Gendy | 2023 (Al Ahly) |
| Egypt | Omar Hesham Hussein | 2023 (Zamalek) |
| Egypt | Anas Osama Mahmoud | 2021-2022 (Zamalek) |
| Egypt | Omar Tarek Oraby | 2023 (Al Ahly) |
| Egypt | Ehab Amin | 2023 (Al Ahly) |
| Egypt | Amr Ibrahim Zahran | 2023 (Al Ahly) |
| Lebanon | Wael Arakji | 2021 (US Monastir) |
| South Sudan | Khaman Maluach | 2022 (Cobra Sport via BAL Elevate) and 2023 (AS Douanes via BAL Elevate) |
| South Sudan | Anunwa “Nuni” Omot | 2023 (Al Ahly) |
*As of August 24, 2023 (all rosters subject to change)