NAIROBI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The three-time national champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) is looking forward to the second round of the 2020 Basketball Africa League (BAL) after clearing their first hurdle in Madagascar.
The team, which returned home Monday, dominated their tournament. Together with Gerdarmerie, Nationale Basketball Club of Madagascar, they will be among the 12 teams going through to the second round from Group F.
KPA's team captain Okall Koranga is happy the team kept their cool to seal their passage through as they remain focused on reaching the finals.
"We went to Madagascar with the intention of clinching one of the two top spots. It is done and we are looking forward to what is coming next," said Koranga on Monday.
"Getting to the next stage is only the first part of the plan. The next one will be to become even more visible on the African scene. We cannot rest now. We want to make it to BAL 2020 and we will not leave any stone unturned to get there," he said.
Continental basketball governing body FIBA Africa says an additional four teams will be invited to join the 12 qualifiers across the continent to have "Elite 16" clubs for the second round of the qualifying tournaments.
The Elite 16 tournament will be held in Bamako (Mali), Libreville (Gabon), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Antananarivo (Madagascar). Two other cities will be determined at a later date.
The top six placed teams from the Elite 16 will then join champions from Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia to complete the Basketball Africa League (BAL) 2020 regular season lineup of 12 teams.
The BAL, which was announced earlier this year, is a partnership between FIBA and the NBA. The inaugural BAL season starts in March 2020, with 12 teams.
