Basketball Africa League annuncia i partner televisivi e il calendario della stagione

La Basketball Africa League (BAL) ha annunciato oggi le partnership con Canal+, ESPN, beIN SPORTS, NBA TV, Tencent Video, TSN, American Forces Network (AFN) e Voice of America (VOA) per trasmettere le partite della BAL in Africa e in tutto il mondo. La stagione inaugurale della BAL inizierà domenica 16 maggio, alle ore 16:00 italiane, quando i Rwanda’s Patriots sfideranno i Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers alla Kigali Arena a Kigali in Rwanda.

Gli altri opening games in questa fase vedranno sfidarsi Senegal’s Association Sportive des Douanes contro Algeria’s Groupement Sportif des Pétroliers, Egypt’s Zamalek contro Mozambique’s Ferroviàrio de Maputo, Tunisia’s Union Sportive Monastirienne contro Madagascar’s Gendarmerie Nationale Basketball Club, Angola’s Petro de Luanda contro Mali’s Association Sportive de la Police, e Morocco’s Association Sportive de Salé contro Cameroon’s Forces Armées et Police Basketball. Le prime BAL Finals si terranno domenica 30 maggio, alle ore 16 italiane.

"Siamo davvero contenti di poter collaborare con questo importante gruppo di partner per trasmettere la nostra stagione inaugurale," ha detto Amadou Gallo Fall, presidente della BAL. "Consiglio a tutti i fans in Africa e in tutto il mondo di sintonizzarsi domenica 16 maggio, e durante tutta la stagione, per conoscere e vedere i migliori talenti di basket di tutto il territorio scontrarsi e competere per vincere il primo titolo della BAL."

Canal+ and ESPN will air all 26 BAL games across Francophone and Anglophone countries and territories in sub-Saharan Africa.  Canal+ will also produce and distribute original ancillary programming, including weekly magazine show "BAL Action."  VOA will broadcast 24 games, including select games in English, French, Portuguese, Kinyarwanda, Bambara and Wolof across its extensive radio network in Africa, with additional programming across its online and mobile platforms.  beIN Media Group, the global sports and entertainment broadcaster, through its flagship channel beIN SPORTS, will air all 26 games in Arabic in the Middle East and North Africa, including the opening game, quarterfinals, semifinals and Finals.

Select free-to-air channels throughout Africa will also air BAL games, including the opening game, quarterfinals, semifinals and Finals.

In the U.S, all games will be available on ESPN+ while the opening game and Finals will also air on ESPNews.  ESPN will air the opening game and Finals in select countries in Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America, and all BAL games will air on ESPN’s digital platforms in those same regions.  BAL games and programming will also be available in Canada on TSN and in China on Tencent Video.  AFN, which is distributed in 168 countries and territories to American military bases and ships at seas, will air select games live and on delay throughout the season.

NBA TV will broadcast 12 live games and select games on delay in the U.S. and around the world across the group phase, quarterfinals, semifinals and Finals.  All BAL games will livestream on the NBA App, the official NBA website nba.com and the official BAL website, theBAL.com.

BAL game broadcasts will utilize the NBA’s Global Statistical System (NGSS), which has been built and supported by NBA partner Genius Sports.

The BAL will tip off with an 18-game group phase with the 12 teams divided into three groups of four.  During the group phase, each team will face the three other teams in its group once.  The top eight teams from the group phase will qualify for the playoffs, which will be single elimination in all three rounds.

GROUP A

GROUP B

GROUP C

GNBC (Madagascar)

Petro de Luanda (Angola)

GSP  (Algeria)

Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria)

FAP (Cameroon)

Zamalek (Egypt)

Patriots BBC (Rwanda)

AS Police (Mali)

Ferroviàrio de Maputo (Mozambique)

US Monastir (Tunisia)

AS Salé (Morocco)

AS Douanes (Senegal)

Additional details about the BAL will be announced in the coming days.  Below is the complete BAL game schedule:

2021 BAL REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE

DATE

TEAM 1

TEAM 2

GROUP

TIME (ET)

TIME  (CAT)

16/05/2021

Patriots BBC

River Hoopers

A

10:00 A.M.

4:00 P.M.

17/05/2021

AS Douanes

GSP

C

8:00 A.M.

2:00 P.M.

17/05/2021

Zamalek

Maputo

C

11:30 A.M.

5:30 P.M.

17/05/2021

US Monastir

GNBC

A

3:00 P.M.

9:00 P.M.

18/05/2021

Petro de Luanda

AS Police

B

11:30 A.M.

5:30 P.M.

18/05/2021

AS Salé

FAP

B

3:00 P.M.

9:00 P.M.

19/05/2021

GNBC

Patriots BBC

A

8:00 A.M.

2:00 P.M.

19/05/2021

Maputo

AS Douanes

C

11:30 A.M.

5:30 P.M.

19/05/2021

Zamalek

GSP

C

3:00 P.M.

9:00 P.M.

20/05/2021

FAP

Petro de Luanda

B

8:00 A.M.

2:00 P.M.

20/05/2021

US Monastir

River Hoopers

A

11:30 A.M.

5:30 P.M.

20/05/2021

AS Salé

AS Police

B

3:00 P.M.

9:00 P.M.

22/05/2021

GSP

Maputo

C

8:00 A.M.

2:00 P.M.

22/05/2021

AS Douanes

Zamalek

C

11:30 A.M.

5:30 P.M.

22/05/2021

Patriots BBC

US Monastir

A

3:00 P.M.

9:00 P.M.

23/05/2021

River Hoopers

GNBC

A

8:00 A.M.

2:00 P.M.

23/05/2021

AS Police

FAP

B

11:30 A.M.

5:30 P.M.

23/05/2021

Petro de Luanda

AS Salé

B

3:00 P.M.

9:00 P.M.

2021 BAL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

DATE

TEAM 1

TEAM 2

GAME

TIME

(ET)

TIME (CAT)

QUARTERFINALS

25/05/2021

Seed 1

Seed 4

G19

11:30 A.M.

5:30 P.M.

25/05/2021

Seed 2

Seed 3

G20

3:00 P.M.

9:00 P.M.

26/05/2021

Seed 5

Seed 8

G21

11:30 A.M

5:30 P.M.

26/05/2021

Seed 6

Seed 7

G22

3:00 P.M.

9:00 P.M.

SEMIFINALS

28/05/2021

W19

W22

G23

11:30 A.M.

5:30 P.M.

28/05/2021

W20

W21

G24

3:00 P.M.

9:00 P.M.

THIRD PLACE

29/05/2021

L23

L24

G25

10:00 A.M.

4:00 P.M.

FINALS

30/05/2021

W23

W24

G26

10:00 A.M.

4:00 P.M.