SLAC (basketball club)

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SLAC
SLAC logo
LeaguesLigue 1
Basketball Africa League
Founded2004
HistorySeydou Legacy Athlétique Club
2004–present
ArenaPalais des Sports du Stade du 28 Septembre
LocationConakry, Guinea
PresidentAboubacar Keita
Head coachPaolo Povia
Championships6 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021)

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[edit]

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[edit]

Current roster[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

SLAC roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
G 0 Guinea Balde, Alseny 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 23 – (2001-05-27)27 May 2001
PG 1 Nigeria Hearst, Zaid Christopher 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 32 – (1992-02-14)14 February 1992
C 3 Guinea Bangoura, Paul 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 22 – (2001-11-14)14 November 2001
PG 4 Guinea Thiam, Amadou 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 19 – (2005-05-06)6 May 2005
C 6 Guinea Bah, Alseny 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 23 – (2001-03-05)5 March 2001
G 7 Guinea Sylla, Soriba 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 20 – (2003-10-06)6 October 2003
C 12 Guinea Soumpare, Aboubacar 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 18 – (2005-08-16)16 August 2005
C 19 Senegal Nguirane, Maodo 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 30 – (1993-11-10)10 November 1993
SG 21 Canada Doumbouya, Ibrahima 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 26 – (1997-10-07)7 October 1997
PF 25 Guinea Amouzou, Kouakou 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 23 – (2000-09-14)14 September 2000
F 41 United States Gilbert, Marcus 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 31 – (1993-01-01)1 January 1993
SG 45 Ivory Coast Zouzoua, Nisre 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 27 – (1996-07-16)16 July 1996
Head coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured

Updated: 4 November 2023

Depth chart[edit]

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Chris Obekpa Mohamed Keita
PF Josh Nzeakor Djibril Sibide
SF Dane Miller Jr. Dioumba Mara Aboubacar Camara
SG Chris Crawford Mamadi Keita Alpha Kaba
PG Ibrahim Fofana Serigne Mbaye Mbembah Sankhon

Notable players[edit]

  Players who have represented their country
  Players who have played in the NBA
  Players who have won an individual award while at the club

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.

Name Nationality Position SLAC career
Ibrahima Kalil Fofana  Guinea PG 2018–
Dane Miller Jr.  United States PF 2018–
Mamadou Keita  Mali SG 2021
Mohamed Keita  Guinea C 2022
Chris Crawford  United States SG 2022
Chris Obekpa  Nigeria C 2022
Uchenna Iroegbu  Nigeria PG 2023
Mambourou Mara  Guinea PF 2023–

Head coaches[edit]

Honours[edit]

Ligue 1

  • Winners (6): 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016-17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21

Basketball Africa League

In the Basketball Africa League[edit]

Season Road to BAL Main competition
W L Result Qualified W L Result
2021 1 2 First phase No DNQ
2022 3 3  Silver Yes 3 3 Quarter-finalist
2023 4 1  Silver Yes 1 4 DNQ
Total 8 6 2/3 4 7

References[edit]

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

External links[edit]