2021 BAL Season
The 2021 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 1, was the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Established as a joint effort between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA, the BAL is the highest tier continental league of Africa, replacing the FIBA Africa Basketball League. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BAL held its inaugural season one year later as planned, with the season beginning in 2021. Initially the league planned to play in six venues in six countries; however, due to the pandemic the season was held in a bio-secure bubble in Kigali, Rwanda. The season began on 16 May 2021 and ended on 30 May 2021. The qualifying rounds for the season were held from 16 October to 21 December 2019, with national champion of each African country has the opportunity to qualify through the qualifying rounds. Meanwhile, six national champions directly qualified for the regular season to make a total of twelve teams in the main tournament. Zamalek won the f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kigali Arena
BK Arena (formerly known as Kigali Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Kigali, Rwanda, used mostly for basketball and volleyball matches. Built and finished in 2019, it hosts sporting events and concerts. It is the biggest indoor arena in East Africa and is located next to the Amahoro Stadium. The arena is regularly used for games in the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL). It was constructed by SUMMA, a Turkish international contractor. In 2021 Kigali Arena signed a contract with Rwandan singer Bruce Melodie for him to be its brand ambassador for the next three years with a shared objective to position the venue as a regional entertainment hub. On 24 May 2022, the arena's name was changed to the BK Arena after a six-year sponsorship deal worth 7 billion RF with the Bank of Kigali. Construction Construction of the Kigali Arena, a joint project of the Rwandan government through the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) and Turkish firm Summa, began in January 2019. The construc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment, equipment and facilities required, organizes international competitions, regulates the transfer of athletes across countries, and controls the appointment of international Official (basketball), referees. A total of 212 national federations are members, organized since 1989 in basketball, 1989 into five zones: FIBA Africa, Africa, FIBA Americas, Americas, FIBA Asia, Asia, FIBA Europe, Europe, and FIBA Oceania, Oceania. FIBA organizes both the men's and women's FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the Basketball at the Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament, which are sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, IOC. The FIBA Basketball World Cup is a world tournament for men's National basketball sports tea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AS Douanes (basketball)
Association Sportive des Douanes, commonly known as AS Douanes, is a Senegalese basketball club from Dakar. Part of the Senegalese national customs agency, the team plays in the national top division Nationale 1 (Senegal), Nationale 1 (NM1) and in the Basketball Africa League (BAL). AS Douanes is the most decorated club in Senegalese basketball, having collected 35 trophies in its existence. The club has won a record 11 Nationale 1 (Senegal), NM1 championships, seven Senegalese Basketball Cup, Senegalese Cups, thirteen Mayor's Cups and five Saint Michel Cups. The most successful international performance of AS Douanes was in 2023, when they finished as runners-up of the 2023 BAL season. They also reached the quarter-finals in the 2021 BAL season, 2021 season. Home games of the team are generally played in the Marius Ndiaye Stadium, which has capacity for 3,000 people. History AS Douanes was established in 1980, as the basketball section of the Senegalese customs organisation. In ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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ESPN Africa
ESPN Africa (On Air Name: Korizen Flo) is an African pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%), that was re-branded in August 2014, replacing Setanta Sports and Setanta Action. The channel broadcasts in Sub-Saharan Africa in English and French. It was also previously available for a brief period in 2016 in Portuguese. Its programming mainly features football from Eredivisie, Scottish Premiership, Belgian Pro League and English Football League. The network was also a long-standing broadcaster of the South American competitions Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana across Africa until the rights moved in 2017. Also broadcasts: NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, NCAA, PFL, NRL rugby league and Basketball Africa League. Previously, as the Irish-owned Setanta Africa, the channel broadcast GAA hurling and gaelic football, plus League of Ir ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, it spread to other areas of Asia, and COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory, then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and assessed the outbreak as having become a pandemic on 11 March. COVID-19 symptoms range from asymptomatic to deadly, but most commonly include fever, sore throat, nocturnal cough, and fatigue. Transmission of COVID-19, Transmission of the virus is often airborne transmission, through airborne particles. Mutations have variants of SARS-CoV-2, produced many strains (variants) with varying degrees of infectivity and virulence. COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly and deplo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of United States cities by population, third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. As the county seat, seat of Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, often colloquially called "Chicagoland" and home to 9.6 million residents. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a Chicago Portage, portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, Mississippi River watershed. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2020 NBA All-Star Game
The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was an Exhibition game, exhibition basketball game that was played on February 16, 2020, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2019–20 NBA season, 2019–20 season. It was the 69th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the United Center in Chicago, home of the Chicago Bulls. Team LeBron James, LeBron defeated Team Giannis Antetokounmpo, Giannis, 157–155. This was the third time that Chicago hosted the All-Star Game. The other two times, in 1973 NBA All-Star Game, 1973 and 1988 NBA All-Star Game, 1988, the game was played at Chicago Stadium, the Bulls' previous home arena. The game was televised nationally by TNT (U.S. TV network), TNT for the 18th consecutive year, and simulcast by TBS (American TV network), TBS for the 6th consecutive year. After airing a “Players Only” broadcast a year ago, TBS returned to simulcasting TNT's coverage, after the “Players Only” brand was canceled by the NBA and Turner Sports. This w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2019 NBA All-Star Game
The 2019 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 17, 2019, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2018–19 season. It was the 68th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the home of the Charlotte Hornets. Team LeBron defeated Team Giannis, 178–164. This was the second time that the NBA All-Star Game format was not Eastern Conference versus Western Conference. Charlotte was announced as host on May 24, 2017. This was the second time that Charlotte hosted the All-Star Game; the first time was in 1991, at the Hornets' previous home arena Charlotte Coliseum. Charlotte was originally selected to host the 2017 All-Star Game, but it was moved to New Orleans that year because of controversy surrounding North Carolina's Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. The 2019 game was televised by TNT for the 17th straight year, while a special “Players Only” al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2021 BAL Qualification
The 2020 BAL Qualifying Tournaments were the inaugural qualifying tournaments of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the newly launched premier basketball league of Africa jointly organized by the NBA and FIBA. While the NBA will co-organise from the regular season, the qualifiers are completely organised by FIBA Africa. A total of 31 teams from 31 countries participate in the qualifying tournaments in order to determine which six teams will play in the 2020 BAL regular season, along with six directly placed six teams. The qualifying tournaments are divided into the First round and Second round, which run from 16 October until 21 December 2019. Team allocation A total of 31 teams from 31 countries played in the qualifying tournaments. League positions after eventual playoffs of the previous season shown in parentheses. On 9 October 2019, the official list of participating teams in the qualifying rounds was announced by FIBA. ;Notes First round In the first round, thirtytw ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rwanda
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With a comparatively high elevation, Rwanda has been given the sobriquet "land of a thousand hills" (), with its geography dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the southeast, with numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. It is the most densely populated mainland African country; among countries larger than 10,000 km2, it is the third-most densely populated country in the world. Its Capital city, capital and largest city is Kigali. Hunter-gatherers settled the territory in the Stone Age, Stone and Iron Ages, followed later by Bantu peoples. The population coalesce ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bio-secure Bubble
A bio-secure bubble, also known as a bubble, or hub city, was a hosting arrangement for sporting events that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, under which events were held at a centralized site, often behind closed doors, with strict quarantine and safety protocols in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A bubble was established for a single sports season, tournament, or for an ongoing series of events, allowing them to still be held and made available to broadcast audiences. Aspects A bio-secure bubble typically consisted of multiple sites comprising a secure perimeter (often within close proximity to each other), including player residences (such as hotels), training facilities, and the venue proper. All participants, including players, team staff, and other staff (such as broadcasting staff present on-site) were screened and tested for COVID-19 before entering the bubble, live within its confines for the duration of the event, and were prohibited from leaving the pe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |