USM Alger (basketball)

Union sportive de la médina d'Alger (basketball) (Arabic: الإتحاد الرياضي لمدينة الجزائر لكرة السلة), referred to as USM Alger BK for a short, is a basketball club based in Algiers, Algeria that played in the Algerian Basketball Championship the team founded in 1942.

History
USM Alger was the most famous Algerian club basketball after independence, the team won the league title three times, adding the team's arrival two to the Algerian cup final in 1989 and 1996 and the defeat against the best clubs of basketball in Algeria MC Alger and WA Boufarik respectively, the women's team has the completion of the sole title of the Algerian cup in 1986. In the season of 2016–17, the USMA managed to return to the Super division A after he finished first in the playoffs in the group included ESB Ouargla, MC Saida and OS Bordj Bou Arréridj. under the leadership of the young coach Reda Saiak the Red and Black, who finish the tournament at the top of the standings, thus find the elite four years after their relegation.

USM Alger returns to the podium
On June 10, 2023, USM Alger achieved a real feat by winning the title of Algerian Basketball Championship, at the Hamou Boutlélis Sports Palace of Oran, after dominating WO Boufarik, during the last match of the playoff tournament, reviving with a trophy having leaked since 1969, For his part the technical director of the capital club Khaled Berkani highlighted this coronation "especially since it put an end to 54 years of scarcity", he said, continuing that "the credit goes to the players and the coach in the first place".. USM Alger participated for the first time in the Arab Club Basketball Championship, which was held in Qatar, and the team strengthened its roster with American player George Williams. USM Alger reached the quarter-finals, where it was defeated against the Lebanese club Dynamo.

On February 5, 2024, the official page of the Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee announced that USM Alger player Faredj Messaoudi had signed a professional contract in the Japanese 3x3 Basketball League, becoming the first Algerian to obtain a professional contract in this sport. On July 17, 2024, USM Alger won the 53rd edition of the Algerian Basketball Cup, beating WO Boufarik, two-time holder of the trophy, with a score of (71-69). The “Rouge et Noir” thus manage to win their first Algerian Basketball Cup in the history, after the failure of their first attempt which dates back to the 1989 edition, lost against MC Alger (66-77).

Men's

 * Algerian Basketball Championship
 * Champion (4): 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 2022–23


 * Algerian Basketball Cup
 * Winners (1): 2023–24
 * Runner-up (2): 1988–89, 1995-96

Women's

 * Algerian Women's Basketball Championship
 * Champion (3): 1968–69, 1985–86, 1990–91


 * Algerian Women's Basketball Cup
 * Winners (2): 1978–79, 1985–86
 * Runner-up (5): 1983–84, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1992-93, 1993-94

Notable players

 * Abdesslem Dekkiche
 * Faredj Messaoudi
 * 🇺🇸 George Williams