It was a massive turnaround in the regular season after the team went 0-2 and were on the verge of elimination in front of the home crowd in Dakar.
Regardless of what happens in the final Saturday night, AS Douanes will be proud of the work they have put in this Basketball Africa League season.
And the man behind that work is Mamadou Gueye, the BAL Coach of the Year.
Gueye was announced as the best coach of this year’s competition before Friday’s third-place playoff game.
The 44-year-old managed to get Douanes out of a very competitive Sahara Conference and into the playoffs with a 3-2 record and is now on course to help them land their first BAL title.
Douanes defeated last season’s champions US Monastir in the regular season before showing the exit door to pre-tournament favourites Petro de Luanda in the semis to advance to the finals.
It was a massive turnaround in the regular season after the team went 0-2 and were on the verge of elimination in front of the home crowd in Dakar.
They, however, went on to win the remaining three games of the Sahara Conference, including the victory over Monastir, to book a ticket to the playoffs in Kigali.
10:28 - 25.05.2023
BAL How AS Douanes shocked Petro de Luanda to reach Basketball Africa League final
The pair of Jean Jacques Boissy and Marcus Crawford was unplayable for Petro and made it tough for every matchup thrown at them.
Now on a 5-0 run since the first two losses of the regular season, AS Douanes have eyes on winning the title at the expense of Al Ahly.
The Coach of the Year award was introduced in Season Two, and Gueye is the second person to win it.
Petro de Luanda’s Jose Neto, whom Gueye eliminated in the semis, won the 2022 Coach of the Year award.
21:15 - 26.05.2023
BAL AS Douanes dare Al Ahly in Basketbll Africa League final
Having defeated last season’s champions US Monastir in the Sahara Conference, Gueye’s charges cleared any doubts with victory over Petro to put the rest on notice.
According to BAL, the award is given to a coach who must have developed a mutually respectful relationship with the league, game officials, media, opponents and fans and had the best results based on the resources at their disposal.
Head coaches and two assistant coaches decide the nomination process.
A coach cannot select a member of their team.
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