Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli defeated defending champions Petro de Luanda of Angola 88-67, to be crowned the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Champions on Saturday at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.
Al Ahli, which made its BAL debut this season, is the first team from Libya to win the BAL Championship.
BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall and FIBA Africa President Anibal Manave presented Al Ahli with the BAL Championship Trophy.
Al Ahli’s Hakeem Olajuwon was named the 2025 BAL MVP.
For the first time in BAL history, the 2025 champions received championship rings, following a tradition long associated with global basketball excellence.
APR defeated Egypt’s Al Ittihad 123–90 in the third-place game yesterday, setting a league record for the most points scored in a single game.
Several former NBA players attended games during the 2025 BAL Playoffs and Finals, including 2014 NBA champion Boris Diaw (France; ties to Senegal), seven-time NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady (U.S.), BAL Ambassadors and NBA Africa investors Luol Deng (South Sudan), Ian Mahinmi (France; ties to Benin) and Joakim Noah (grandfather from Cameroon), 2015 FIBA AfroBasket champion Olumide Oyedeji (Nigeria), former NBA player Hasheem Thabeet (Tanzania) and former NBA player and Olympian Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Ghana).
The BAL has also announced the Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sportsmanship Award winner, All-BAL First Team, All-BAL Defensive Team, and Ubuntu Award winner.
The voting panels varied for each award and comprised fans, coaches, team captains, media, broadcasters, and scouts.
