2018–19 Africa Basketball League
The 2018–19 Africa Basketball League or Africa League was the 33nd edition of FIBA Africa's premier club Basketball tournament and the first under the new format and name of Africa Basketball League. The season saw an expansion from twelve to sixteen teams. After this season, the competition was replaced by the Basketball Africa League (BAL), which will start in March 2020. Competition format. FIBA Africa has increased the number of participating teams from twelve to sixteen. These teams get their ticket for the Africa Basketball League through regional qualifiers (Zone 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6 and 7 of FIBA Africa). The qualifiers for the Africa Basketball League Group stage was held from September and until mid-December 2018, while the final phase will take place from January 11 to April 21, 2019, in various African cities. The 16 teams qualified for the round of 16 will be divided into 4 groups of 4 teams each and the competition will take place in the form of a championship where each team will face respectively the 3 opponents of his group. Then, the first two clubs in each group will qualify for the Elite 8 where  the clubs will be divided into four groups of two teams each and then games will be played in a home and away format. At this stage, the competition will be played in a one-way match against the principle of direct elimination. The Four winners will advance to the Final 4, that will be played on April 20 while the final take place the next day. Teams. A total of 16 teams from 10 countries will contest the league. Venues and locations. <onlyinclude> Group stage. The draw was held in Abidjan on 12 January 2019. The two  teams with the best records for each group qualified to Elite 8. Group A. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Group B. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Group D. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Knockout phase. Elite 8. The Elite 8 games will be played in a home and away basis from March 22–April 14, 2019. Final Four. On 19 April 2019, the Kimbala Arena in Luanda, Angola was announced as host of the Final Four. The draw was held on 27 April 2019 in Abidjan.