Bangui Sporting Club, also known as Bangui SC, is a Central African basketball team based in Bangui. The team plays in the Bangui Basketball League (LBBB) and has won the championship in 2022 and 2023.[1]
In the 2024 season, Bangui played in the Basketball Africa League (BAL), as the first team from the Central African Republic in the league. The team colors are navy, red and white.
History
The club was founded in 2017 as GIBA-BCAGS,[2] by former national team player Cyrille Damango. The team entered the Bangui Basketball League (LBBB) after its establishment, and finished as runners-up in 2021, losing to Tondema In the final.[3] The team changed its name to Bangui Sporting Club on 4 April 2022.
Following their 2022 national championship, Sporting represented the Central African Republic in the 2023 BAL qualification,[4] and its roster featured national team players Max Kouguere and Steven-Emile Perriere, as well as Rwandan guard Kenny Gasana and center Kendall Gray.[5] Sporting narrowly missed out on a place in the BAL, after losing the third place game to Stade Malien.
They repeated as LBBB champions in 2023 after defeating New Tech Bantou in the finals, with national team players Evans Ganapamo and Max Kouguere on the roster.[6] As champions, they qualified once again for the Road to BAL. Before the beginning of the Road to BAL, Sporting hired Liz Mills as their new head coach.[7] Bangui had a successful run which was highlighted by their 4 November semi-final win over Al Ahly Benghazi, which sealed their qualification to the 2024 BAL season. Thus, Bangui Sporting Club became the first team from the Central African Republic to qualify for the BAL.[8] and winning the West Division title after beating FUS Rabat in the final on 5 November.[9]
Following financial issues of the organization ahead of the BAL, Bangui struggled to pay its players after the successful Road to BAL campaign and coach Mills did not re-sign.[10] In March, Bangui appointed Justin Serresse as their new head coach,[11] however, he quickly left the team over payment disputes as well.[10] Bangui nevertheless made a successful debut in the BAL with François Enyengue as coach, and with notable players such as Thierry Darlan and Kurt-Curry Wegscheider on their team. Bangui finished third in the Nile Conference with a 3–3 record.
