Urunani speak amid BAL wild card rumours

With the rumour mill rife with news that South Africa's MBB Blue Soldiers who played their Road to BAL (Basketball Africa League) Elite 16 in Nairobi have received the wild card, Burundi's Urunani have moved to give a statement. 

Expectations were high that the Burundian side, who also played the final qualifying stage in Nairobi, finishing third, would get the wild card after ending the campaign as the best-placed team outside the automatic qualifiers. 

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In a statement, the club claims to have learned, via social media, of the allocation of the Wild Card for BAL, now in its fifth season, to the South African champions. BAL is yet to issue an official statement as to who gets the remaining slot. 

"Despite this decision, the Management of the Club wishes to express its pride in the remarkable achievements of this season.

With a first-place finish at the Road to BAL in Tanzania, and a third-place finish at the Elite 16 in Kenya, these performances highlight the high level of Burundian basketball and reinforce our ambition to continue making it shine on the international stage," the statement reads in part.

"Urunani BBC remains firmly committed to the development of basketball in Burundi." 

In Nairobi, the South African champions finished sixth in the showpiece won by home side Nairobi City Thunder (NCT) to make history as the first Kenyan club to qualify for the premier African club competition. 

Seeing as South Africa will, for the first time, host the BAL playoffs finals, many feel this influenced the decision (should it stand) and the wild card was not awarded on merit.

Urunani, who made their debut on the Elite 16 in 2022, missed out on the Qualifying Tournament in 2023, having lost their national title to rivals Dynamo BBC.

2024 was, however, a year of redemption for Urunani who were crowned the Viva Basketball League (VBL) Elite 8 winners, going on to lift the Playoffs title as well in a seven-game thrilling Final against Dynamo.

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The side led 3-1 but Dynamo staged a comeback with back-to-back wins to level the series, Urunani winning the decider to qualify for the 2025 Road to BAL.

This was the second time that the club was being eliminated in the Elite 16 Semis, just one match away from qualifying. The first time City Oilers of Uganda denied them while Cape Verde's Kriol Star put a stop to their cruise, one that had seen them remain unbeaten from the Group.