Debutants Al Ahli Tripoli made history on Wednesday after defeating Rwandan side APR 84-71 in the semi-final of the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs, Afrosport reports.
The result at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, meant Al Ahli had reached the BAL Finals for the first time in their history and became just the second Libyan team to achieve the feat.
Al Ahli Tripoli opened a seven-point lead into the halftime break after a brilliant second quarter, where they held APR to just 11 points. The Rwandans, however, fought back, winning the third quarter by nine points to take a two-point lead into the final quarter.
The Libyans regrouped and came out guns blazing, winning the fourth quarter by 15 points to progress to the BAL Finals.
✅ ALAHLI SC 🇱🇾 MAKES HISTORY!
They’re headed to their first-ever BAL Final! 🔥👏 Respect to APR 🇷🇼 for an incredible journey — and they’re not done yet. One last battle for 3rd place this Friday. 🥉#BAL5 pic.twitter.com/JjVZqW5hhY
— Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) June 11, 2025
Fabian White Jr led the Tripoli-based team with a game-high 23 points, including shooting 3-for-6 from the 3-point line. Nigerian international Caleb Agada added 17 points off the bench in another fruitful substitute appearance and was a menace on the defensive end, recording a game-high five steals.
Point guard Jaylen Adams and Mohamed Sadi dropped 13 points apiece, and Assem Marei added 10 as four of Al Ahli Tripoli’s five starters ended in double figures.
Anunwa Omot led APR with 22 points, while the trio of Chasson Randle, Aliou Diarra and Obadiah Noel all finished with 13 points each.
Al Ahli Tripoli will look to crown their fairytale run with their first BAL championship in the final on Saturday, 14 June, while APR will hope for a podium finish in the third-place game.
