BANGUI, Central African Republic – Golden Hawks manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Justin Serresse has been named head coach of Bangui Sporting Club for the upcoming Basketball Africa League season.
Bangui S.C., named after the Central African Republic capital it calls home, qualified for the 2024 BAL season after winning the Road to BAL West Division in 2023. It is the first time the club, which was established in 2017, has qualified for the BAL, and they become the first team from the Central African Republic to compete in the league.
Serresse replaces Australian coach Liz Mills in the role.
"I'm very excited about the opportunity to coach a professional team for the first time, more specifically professional team on the continent that has been very passionate about developing coaches and players. That's something that is very close to my heart," said Serresse.
"I have a friend Ian Mahinmi who is a minority owner of the league, so I've been following the league very closely over the years and he's always gracefully invited me to go and watch the league grow every year," he continued. "I think this opportunity came not just through my hard work, but also through a few connections that I was able to make these last couple of years."
Joining Serresse on the coaching staff will be Golden Hawks assistant coach and community outreach consultant Cavell Johnson.
"I think we complement each other very well," said Serresse. "I needed somebody that I trusted close to me, and I was lucky enough to be able to steal him for a month and a half away from his family and his business in the area to help us do something special."
This will be the fourth season for the relatively new but fast-growing league. Teams are split into three conferences of four teams each. Each conference plays a six-game group stage, with the top two teams from each conference as well as two wild card teams advancing to the playoffs.
Bangui S.C. will play in the Nile Conference, with group stage games taking place at Dr Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo, Egypt. They're joined by Egyptian club Al Ahly Ly, Libyan Al Ahly Benghazi, and Ugandan City Oilers.
"It's almost like a national team training camp," said Serresse, who was assistant coach for Team Canada at the FIBA U19 Men's World Cup in 2021 and 2023, and the FIBA U18 Men's Americas Championships in 2022.
"I'm looking at it in terms of putting a team together, training camp for a full month, and then going there and playing six games in eight days."
"I like that setup in terms of getting a group of guys for a short amount of time and trying to find that chemistry, find out the right style of play. It's a challenge that I always enjoy," he said.
The BAL Nile Conference group stage will take place April 19-27, with the BAL playoffs following from May 24 to June 1. Bangui S.C. tips off their season against Al Ahly Ly on April 19.
