SLAC (basketball club) explained

SLAC
Leagues:Ligue 1
Basketball Africa League
Founded:2004
History:Seydou Legacy Athlétique Club
2004–present
Arena:Palais des Sports du Stade du 28 Septembre
Location:Conakry, Guinea
President:Aboubacar Keita
Coach:Paolo Povia
Championships:6 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021)
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Seydou Legacy Athlétique Club, commonly known as SLAC, is a Guinean basketball team from Conakry. The team plays in the Ligue 1, as well as in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in of the 2023 season. SLAC has won the Ligue 1 championship six times in history.

SLAC plays its home games in the Palais de Sports de Stade du 28 Septembre, located next to the multi-purpose stadium.

History

In March 2018, SLAC made its debut in the FIBA Africa Basketball League, the top pan-African league.[1] On 1 March 2018, SLAC played its first game ever at an African main tournament, losing 80–65 to JS Kairouan.[2] In 2019, SLAC won its fourth domestic championship after beating BACK in the finals.[3] Qualified as national champion of Guinea, SLAC played in the 2020 BAL Qualifying Tournaments.[4] Before the start of the qualifiers, SLAC attracted Serbian head coach Zeljko Zecevic.[5]

The following year, the team returned to the BAL qualifiers and qualified after beating Mali's AS Police after overtime in the semifinal.[6] As a result, SLAC became the first team from Guinea to play in the BAL. With a 2–3 record in the Sahara Conference behind standout guard Chris Crawford, the team qualified for the playoffs.[7] There, SLAC lost in the quarter-finals to the defending champions Zamalek from Egypt.

In the 2023 BAL season, they had a 1–4 record and thus failed to qualify for the playoffs a second year in a row. SLAC's star player Dane Miller Jr. was named to the All-BAL First Team.[8] In the 2023 offseason, SLAC's accomplished coach Željko Zečević departed the team for AS Salé. The club hired Italian coach Paolo Povia, former head coach of the Ivory Coast national team, as his replacement.[9]

Players

See main article: category.

Notable players

The following list of former SLAC players includes players who have played at least one official international match for their country, have won a major award or have played in the National Basketball Association.

NameNationalityPositionSLAC career
bgcolor=#ccccff align="left" PG2018–
bgcolor=#D2FFD2 align="left" PF2018–
bgcolor=#ccccff align="left" SG2021
bgcolor=#ccccff align="left" C2022
SG2022
bgcolor=#D2FFD2 align="left" bgcolor=#ccccff align="left" C2022
bgcolor=#ccccff align="left" PG2023
bgcolor=#ccccff align="left" PF2023–

Honours

Ligue 1

Basketball Africa League

In the Basketball Africa League

SeasonRoad to BALMain competition
width=35width=35ResultQualifiedwidth=35width=35Result
202112First phasecolspan=3
20223333Quarter-finalist
20234114
Total862/347

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History made as Guinean club SLAC qualify for inaugural FIBA AfroLeague 2019. FIBA.basketball. 22 December 2019.
  2. Web site: JS Kairouan v S.L.A.C. boxscore - FIBA Africa Basketball League . 1 March 2019 . FIBA.basketball.
  3. Web site: Guinée-Basket: le SLAC remporte le championnat! . Africafootunited.com . 2018-07-13 . 2019-11-02.
  4. Web site: African clubs to compete in qualifying tournaments for the Basketball Africa League confirmed. 9 October 2019. FIBA Africa. 11 October 2019.
  5. Web site: BASKET AFRICA LEAGUE : Le SLAC de Guinée frappe fort. 24 October 2019. 7 November 2019.
  6. News: Guinea's SLAC stun AS Police in OT, qualify to Basketball Africa League . 16 December 2021 . FIBA.basketball . en.
  7. Web site: How teams are gearing up for the 2022 BAL Quarter-Finals . 2022-09-16 . FIBA.basketball . en.
  8. Web site: 2023-05-27 . MVP Nuni Omot leads Al Ahly to BAL title in Kigali . 2023-05-28 . ESPN.com . en.
  9. Web site: 2023-10-27 . Revamped SLAC chase third BAL appearance . 2023-10-29 . FIBA.basketball . en.