The second phase of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) quarter final stage is off to a rocky start as Kenya Ports Authority Club has withdrawn from the competition.
The team was set to open Group H games later tonight at the Kigali Arena in Rwanda against City Oilers from Uganda at 17:30 GMT.
Ports Authority’s withdrawal came mere hours before the tournament tipped off this afternoon; financial challenges and internal issues in the club are reportedly reasons behind the withdrawal.
The team was drawn in Pool B of Group H alongside Ferroviario De Maputo from Mozambique, Cobra from South Sudan and Oilers.
Pool A has Patriots from Rwanda, GNBC from Madagascar, UNZA Pacers from Zambia and JKT from Tanzania; the top two teams from each pool progress to the semifinals of the competition.
Games in Group G were concluded last month with a quartet of teams including AS Police from Mali and GS Petroilers from Algeria progress to the semis.
The BAL is a joint NBA-FIBA venture.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
