G-League Senegalese player joins squad ahead of BAL showpiece

By , April 22, 2025

Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) basketball team has received a major boost ahead of the upcoming Basketball Africa League (BAL) championship, after being assigned a Senegalese NBA G-League player to reinforce the squad. The team is also eyeing continental glory, with the head coach confident they can emerge as the best in Africa.

In an exclusive interview with People Sports, NCT assistant team manager Bernet Ojay disclosed that the team has been assigned an NBA G-League player of Senegalese origin, Mbacke Diong, who will feature for Thunder during their BAL campaign. The club has also signed Brazilian centre Feliciano Pérez, who will play in the ongoing Kenya National Basketball League (KNBL).

“Thunder has been assigned, through BAL, an NBA G-League player [Mbacke Diong] who will feature for the team during our upcoming BAL championship campaign, starting with the Nile Conference in Kigali, Rwanda. The matches will run from May 17 to 25 at the BK Arena,” Ojay said.

He explained that the assignment is in line with BAL’s participation guidelines, which require each of the 12 qualified teams to include one NBA G-League player and one NBA Elevate player in their squad.

“All 12 teams competing in this season’s BAL have each been assigned an NBA G-League player, including one NBA Elevate player,” Ojay confirmed.

The fifth season of the BAL tipped off with the Kalahari Conference (Group A) matches held in Rabat, Morocco from April 5 to 13. Among the participants were Al Ittihad, who won all six of their games, Morocco’s FUS Rabat, Stade Malien, and Rivers Hoopers, who finished second with four wins and two losses. FUS Rabat won two and lost four, while Stade lost all their matches.

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