Association Sportive des Douanes, commonly known as AS Douanes, is a Senegalese basketball club from Dakar. Part of the Senegalese national customs agency, the team plays in the national top division Nationale 1 (NM1) and in the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
AS Douanes is the most decorated club in Senegalese basketball, having collected 35 trophies in its existence. The club has won a record 11 NM1 championships, seven Senegalese Cups, thirteen Mayor's Cups and five Saint Michel Cups.
The most successful international performance of AS Douanes was in 2023, when they finished as runners-up of the 2023 BAL season. They also reached the quarter-finals in the 2021 season.
Home games of the team are generally played in the Marius Ndiaye Stadium, which has capacity for 3,000 people.
History
AS Douanes was established in 1980,[3] as the basketball section of the Senegalese customs organisation.[4] In 1998, the team won its first national championship.
They won two more championships in 2007 and 2008, followed by six championship in the 2010s.
In October 2019, Douane won its ninth Senegalese championship after defeating DUC in the final.[5] By winning, Douanes qualified directly for the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) as an automatic spot was granted to the Senegalese champions.[6][7]
In their debut season in the BAL, Les Gabelous were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the playoffs.
After losing the 2021 title to DUC and missing out on the BAL, Douanes won their 10th national title on 16 October 2022, after beating their arch-rivals 2–0 in the finals series.[8]
Following their title, they qualified directly to the 2023 BAL season, returning after a one-year absence. They acquired Chris Crawford and Terrell Stoglin as American import players.[9] The team lost the first two games of the season, after which the team released Stoglin from their roster.[10] After this, Douanes won three straight games and was able to qualify for the playoffs after they defeated the defending champions US Monastir on the final game day. They eliminated Monastir as well, and advanced based on the tie-breaker between the five teams with a 3–2 record.[11][12]
In the 2023 BAL Playoffs, Douanes easily cruised past Ferroviário da Beira, before facing the reigning runners-up Petro de Luanda in the semi-final. Behind 28 points from Jean Jacques Boissy and 26 points from Crawford, Douanes beat the Angolan team in what was widely considered to be a shocking win.[13] On 26 May, one day before the final, Pabi Gueye was named the BAL Coach of the Year.[14] In the final, AS Douanes was defeated by Egyptian champions Al Ahly who led the majority of the game. Boissy and Crawford were, however, named to the All-BAL First Team.
On 17 September 2023, AS Douanes won 2023 national championship, overtaking ASFAS as the club with the most championships in Senegal basketball history.[15]
