BAL 2025: Strong field set for Final 8 in Pretoria

The eight teams for the BAL 2025 Final 8, which will take place from 6 to 14 June in Pretoria, South Africa, are now known. Rwanda's APR claimed the last spot by beating Nairobi City Thunder 77-74 on Sunday night in Kigali.

First Final 8 for 4 clubs, including APR

At the break, the Armée Patriotique Rwandaise had little hope of reaching the final phase of this BAL 2025. The Patriots trailed 19-17 and then 26-18 (45-35) over the first two quarters, leaving them ten points down at half-time. But the Kenyan champions lost their grip in the third quarter as the Rwandans staged a spectacular comeback, cutting the deficit to 45-41 midway through the period, but still trailing 61-55 at the end of the quarter.

Read also: BAL 2025: all the qualifiers for the play-offs

Nairobi City Thunder were therefore closing in on their first win in this Nile Conference, but the inexperience of Brad Ibs' men, who are in their first participation, proved costly in the final seconds of the fourth and last quarter, when American Obadiah Noel settled the game for APR with a three-pointer three seconds from time to break a perfect deadlock at 74-74. The Rwandans therefore won 77-74 and secured a place in the Final 8 for the first time in their history. They join Al Ittihad Alexandria (Egypt), Al Ahli Tripoli (Libya) and Kriol Star (Cape Verde), who will discover the knockout phase in South Africa.

Petro Luanda and the heavyweights are there

Reigning champions Petro Luanda have qualified for the BAL 2025 Final 8 once again. It is the fifth time the Angolans have reached this stage of the competition. The same tally goes for Tunisia's US Monastir, who will also be in South Africa.

Finally, Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria) and FUS Rabat (Morocco) are contesting their second consecutive Final 8. The show promises to be epic at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria from 6 June for this final stage of the tournament after a gripping regular season. As usual, these play-offs will feature 4 classification games to determine the quarter-final pairings, followed by four quarter-finals, two semi-finals, the third-place game and the final itself.