Road to BAL 2027

JCA Kings are living up to the latter part of their name after yet another dominant season. The Kings retained two of their domestic crowns this season and added another (the Super Cup), reaffirming their basketball dominance in Côte d’Ivoire for another year.

A player who has led from the front in what is a golden two years for JCA is veteran player Ulrich Kra, whose career is laden with success. He says this demanded a lot from the team, as domestic and continental campaigns needed Kra and his teammates to be at their sharpest.

Balancing domestic and continental ambition

The “long season”, as described by Kra, proved successful for him and JCA as they retained the Ligue d’Or title they won last season and the national cup. Kra says the key element of their Ligue d’Or title defence in June was the quality of the squad, with experienced players like Christopher Crawford and national team teammate Jonathan Cisse helping carry the team. He also detailed how the domestic and continental commitments exacted a physical toll on the team.

“I’m proud of winning this title. It was back-to-back, and secondly, it was a long season. A long, long season,” said Kra, nine-time league champion. “Last year, we went to the Road to BAL in Abidjan and then the Elite 16 in Praia. We then came back home for the new season, and then had to travel to Rabat for the BAL.

“So it was a long, long season, and there were some small injuries, but at the end of the day, we got to the final against ABC, a really good team, but guys like Jonathan Cisse stepped up, and we kept our title.”

For any player, facing a former club in a final or finals, those moments can elicit certain feelings, and for Kra, who had enjoyed success with ABC, it was no different. Still, he and JCA found a way to stay on mission against a team entering the finals series with a perfect regular-season record.

“Of course, ABC were my last team before I came to JCA. So, I was a little nervous before the game because the previous season, we won the title against SOA. This time it was ABC, so we were very focused for the final. Our main goal was to fight till the end,” said Kra. “ABC won all their games. They were 22-0, so we had to fight, it was the only way. And it how we got the title.”

Lessons from the BAL

Just before their Ligue d’Or title defence, JCA made their BAL debut this year, and they endured a horrendous campaign, bowing out with a 0-5 record in the Sahara Conference. While the BAL was forgettable, the exposure to that level of competition set JCA up for unprecedented domestic success.

Kra, who was appearing for the second time in the BAL, concurs that competing against top-tier clubs from the continent jump-started their pursuit of a second league title.

“This season was long, as I said. We were in different competitions, the national cup, the league and the BAL. When you play a team like Club Africain, who have good players like Omar Abada and a club like Al Ahly of Egypt, you will return with big experience. We learnt from our mistakes over there, and when we came back for the league and cup. And we did our best in those competitions.”

Learning from a legend

Kra paid homage to his former teammate at ABC Fighters and his current JCA coach, Stephane Konate, who is decorated as a player and is turning the club into a force in Côte d’Ivoire.

“When you play for a team like JCA, and you have a coach like Stèphane Konatè, it’s a big chance for young players and me to succeed. We have a lot of confidence in him,” said Kra.

“He is like a father figure to me. When I was young, I watched him on TV. He brought me to ABC, and we played together for about nine seasons. I learnt everything from him.”

While he continues to learn from a mentor who has become a respected coach, Kra has led on the court and helped JCA achieve their unprecedented success. As captain of the team, how has Kra, the 2024-2025 Ligue d’Or MVP, taken to the leadership role in the last two seasons?

“In Africa, it’s hard to defend your title. So when you get to training, you have to work hard every morning and every night. As the captain, I always try to do my best in training. To motivate the young players to give all they can and play with good energy and fighting spirit to win games or a final,” said Kra.

JCA will return to the Road to BAL, and Kra, who has played in five of the continental qualifiers, looks forward to the upcoming challenge.

“We did a good job (at last year’s Road to BAL), but we fell short at the BAL. So some work still has to be done. We have to try to get the best import players and do our best to get back to the BAL,” said Kra.

World Cup ambitions

The continued success of JCA has seen Kra earn a recall to the national team after last competing for the Elephants at the 2023 AfroCan. During the 2027 FIBA World Cup Africa Qualifiers, Kra averaged 6.2 points and 1.2 rebounds as the Ivorians, who were in Group B with Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Madagascar, progressed with a 5-1 record to the next round (in Group F), where they will face Mali, Angola and Egypt. Joining them in Group F are also the DRC and Senegal. 

Having already faced Senegal and Congo in the earlier rounds, the Ivorians, who carry 11 points into the next round and a second-place ranking in the new group, face Angola, Egypt, and Mali. Despite his country’s solid positioning, Kra says they face a tough task. 

“I am very satisfied with our result on the last two windows. I think we did a good job getting to this position today… And we will have to make more of an effort against nations like Egypt, Angola and Mali because it will be more difficult,” said Kra. “Especially against Angola and Mali. For me, they are the two best teams on the continent at the moment. We will have to work even harder and represent our country to the best of our ability,” said Kra.