Kriol Star

Kriol Star
Kriol Star logo
LeagueCBL
BAL
Established2024
HistoryKriol Star
(2024–present)
ArenaGimnodesportivo Vavá Duarte
Capacity7,000
LocationPraia, Cape Verde
Head coachHugo Da Silva Salgado
OwnershipKriol Star Foundation

Kriol Star is a Cape Verdean professional basketball team based in Praia. They compete in the Capeverdean Basketball League (CBL) and the Basketball Africa League (BAL), as the first Cape Verdean team in league history, having advanced through the qualifiers.

The home games of the team are usually played at the 7,000-seater arena Gimnodesportivo Vavá Duarte.[1]

History

Established in 2024 by the two professional players and brothers Joel and Ivan Almeida,[2] through the holding Kriol Star Foundation, they played in the Road to BAL 2025, becoming the first club from Cape Verde to play in FIBA's continental qualifying tournaments.[3][4]

Led by head coach Hugo Da Silva Salgado, they were allocated in Group A.[5] The first roster was revealed in October 2024, and included national team players Ali Lahrichi, Joel Almeida, Dieudonné Ndizeye and Oumar Barry, among others.[6] Kriol Star lost its both games against hosts Al Ahli Tripoli and Stade Malien and was eliminated in the first round.[7] In November, however, FIBA announced that the team received a wild card for the East Division's Elite 16 round.[8] On December 2, they defeated the favored Urunani from Burundi in the semifinal to qualify for the 2025 BAL season.[9]

Roster

The following was Kriol Star's roster in the 2025 BAL qualification:Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

No. Pos. Nat. Player
0 G Morocco MAR Ali Lahrichi
2 F Cape Verde CPV Helton Lopes Correia
8 SG Cape Verde CPV Joel Almeidfa Tavares
9 G/F Cape Verde CPV Joel Almeida
11 SF Cape Verde CPV Luis Texeira
12 G United States USA Kclejuan Brown
16 C Cape Verde CPV Keven Gomes
22 G United States USA De'Angelo Stewart
23 C Mali MLI Oumar Barry
34 F Rwanda RWA Dieudonné Ndizeye
 

Performance in the Road to BAL

Competition Season Coach Won Lost Win % Final stage Top scorer
Road to BAL 2025 Hugo Da Silva Salgado 0 2 .000 Eliminated in the first round Dieudonné Ndizeye (12.5)
Totals 0 2 .000 —

References

  1. ^ "Meet the team: Kriol Star". www.fiba.basketball. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  2. ^ Lehohla, Manyehlisa (15 October 2024). "Almeida waxes lyrical about his music and success on the court". The Big Tip Off. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Kriol Star Stats, Games, Results, Rosters, Photos & Videos - FIBA Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L 2025 | FIBA.basketball". www.fiba.basketball. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Things to know about the Road to BAL 2025 - West Division". www.fiba.basketball. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Kriol Star Stats, Games, Results, Rosters, Photos & Videos - FIBA Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L 2025 | FIBA.basketball". www.fiba.basketball. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  6. ^ @theofficial_cbl (11 October 2024). "The Kriol Star will play in the Road to BAL" – via Instagram.
  7. ^ "Party time in Tripoli as four teams advance to the Elite 16". www.fiba.basketball. 13 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Kriol Star receive wild card for East Division Elite 16". www.fiba.basketball. 24 November 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  9. ^ "Short-handed Kriol Star stun star-studded Urunani, qualify for BAL 2025". www.fiba.basketball. 2 December 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
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