AS Salé (basketball)

Association Sportive Salé (جمعية سلا), commonly known as AS Salé, is a Moroccan basketball club from Salé. The club competes in the Division Excellence. Notable players of the team include senior men's Moroccan national basketball team members Abderrahim Najah, Zakaria El Masbahi and Soufiane Kourdou.

Salé has won the Moroccan championship 9 times and the Moroccan Throne Cup a record 12 times. The team won one continental title, the FIBA Africa Champions Cup which it won in 2017. Salé also participated in the first two seasons of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in 2021 and 2022.

History
The basketball section of multi-sports club AS Salé was established on 1928. The team played in the Division Excellence, Morocco's first tier, for years but did not win its first league title until 2010.

On 20 December 2017, Salé won the 2017 FIBA Africa Champions Cup, Salé's first international title and the first title of a Moroccan team at the event in almost 20 years. It did so by defeating Étoile de Radès in Radès, winning the final 77–69. Head coach of the winning team was Said El Bouzidi. After the tournament, Salé's Abdelhakim Zouita was named Most Valuable Player of the competition while Abderrahim Najah was honoured with a place in the All-Star Five.

In the following continental season, Salé had another outstanding year. The team reached the final for its second consecutive year but failed to defeat Angolan side Primeiro de Agosto.

As winners of the 2018–19 Moroccan League, Salé qualified for the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). In its debut season, Salé reached the quarterfinals behind league top scorer Terrell Stoglin who averaged 30.8 points per game. After two seasons were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team won its eight national title on 27 July 2021, after edging FUS Rabat in the final.

In March 2022, Liz Mills signed as head coach of Salé, becoming the first female head coach of a men's team in Morocco and the Arab world. In the 2022 BAL season, they were eliminated by Petro de Luanda for a second year in a row. Mills left Salé after the BAL, making space for Said El Bouzidi to return. On 30 June 2022, Salé won its ninth Division Excellence championship after beating FUS Rabat in the finals.

On 12 October 2023, Salé defeated Al Ahly in the semi-final of the 2023 Arab Club Basketball Championship, Thus reaching the final for the fifth time in its history. They placed second after losing the final against Beirut Club.

Current roster
The following is AS Salé's roster for the 2022 BAL season.

Past rosters

 * 2021 BAL season
 * 2022 BAL season

Notable players

 * 🇲🇦 Soufiane Kourdou (2005–present)
 * 🇲🇦 Abdelali Lahrichi
 * 🇲🇦 Zakaria El Masbahi
 * 🇲🇦 Abderrahim Najah (2009–present)
 * 🇲🇦 Abdelhakim Zouita (2008–2012; 2013–present)
 * 🇧🇪 Yassine El Mahsini (2016–present)
 * 🇧🇪 Khalid Boukichou (2022–present)
 * 🇨🇫 Johndre Jefferson (2021)
 * 🇨🇲 Parfait Bitee (2011–2012)
 * 🇺🇸 Wayne Arnold (2017–2020)
 * 🇺🇸 Terrell Stoglin (2021; 2022–present)
 * Abdoulaye Harouna (2021–present)
 * 🇹🇳 Radhouane Slimane (2018–2020)

Head coaches

 * 🇷🇸 Željko Zečević (2019)
 * 🇲🇦 Said El Bouzidi (2020–2022)
 * 🇦🇺 Liz Mills (2022)
 * 🇲🇦 Said El Bouzidi (2022–2023)
 * 🇷🇸 Željko Zečević (2023–present)