Dar City will return to action tomorrow when they face Angola’s Petro de Luanda in what is expected to be a decisive clash.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s representative in the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Dar City, remain firmly in contention for a place in the playoffs despite suffering a setback against Libya’s Al Ahly Ly.
In a thrilling encounter played at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, Dar City fell 118–97 to the Libyan side, a result that stunned many basketball fans back home given the Tanzanian champions’ strong form in earlier matches.
The defeat came as a surprise, especially considering that Al Ahly Ly had previously shown inconsistent performances compared to Dar City, who entered the game with confidence after securing victories against Johannesburg Giants and Nairobi City Thunder.
Those wins had positioned the Tanzanian side as one of the favorites to claim another crucial result.
However, Al Ahly Ly delivered a commanding performance, taking control of the match and securing a comfortable victory that halted Dar City’s momentum in the highly competitive Kalahari Conference. Despite the loss, all is not lost for Dar City.
According to the standings in the Basketball Africa League Kalahari Conference, the Tanzanian side must win at least one of their remaining matches to secure qualification for the playoffs, which are scheduled to take place in Rwanda from May 22 to 31.
Dar City will return to action tomorrow when they face Angola’s Petro de Luanda in what is expected to be a decisive clash.
They will then conclude their group-stage campaign on Saturday against Rwanda’s RSSB Tigers.
Victory in either of the two remaining matches would give Dar City a 3–1 record, a result that could be enough to guarantee a top-four finish in the Kalahari Conference and secure a place in the BAL Playoffs.
The Kalahari Conference brings together some of Africa’s strongest basketball teams, including Petro de Luanda (Angola), Al Ahly Ly (Libya), RSSB (Rwanda), Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya), Dar City (Tanzania), and Johannesburg Giants (South Africa). Only the top four teams will advance to the next stage.
The BAL Playoffs will feature eight teams in total—four from the Kalahari Conference and four from the Sahara Conference, which will be hosted in Morocco.
The Sahara Conference includes FUS de Rabat (Morocco), Al Ahly (Egypt), ASC Ville de Dakar (Senegal), Club Africain (Tunisia), JCA Kings (Ivory Coast), and Maktown Flyers (Nigeria).
The competition in that group is set to begin on April 24.
With two crucial games remaining, Dar City’s fate is still in their own hands as they look to bounce back and keep their continental dream alive.
