Kriol Star

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Kriol Star
Kriol Star logo
LeagueCBL
BAL
Established2024
HistoryKriol Star
(2024–present)
ArenaGimnodesportivo Vavá Duarte
Capacity7,000
LocationPraia, Cape Verde
Head coachHugo Da Silva Salgado
OwnershipKriol Star Foundation

Kriol Star is a Cape Verdean professional basketball team based in Praia. They compete in the Capeverdean Basketball League (CBL) and the Basketball Africa League (BAL), as the first Cape Verdean team in league history, having advanced through the qualifiers.

The home games of the team are usually played at the 7,000-seater arena Gimnodesportivo Vavá Duarte.[1]

History

[edit]

Although the social organization had been established for around 10 years,[2] the basketball team Kriol Star was established in 2024 by the two professional players and brothers Joel and Ivan Almeida,[3] through the holding Kriol Star Foundation, they played in the Road to BAL 2025, becoming the first club from Cape Verde to play in FIBA's continental qualifying tournaments.[4][5]

Led by head coach Hugo Da Silva Salgado, they were allocated in Group A.[6] The first roster was revealed in October 2024, and included national team players Ali Lahrichi, Joel Almeida, Dieudonné Ndizeye and Oumar Barry, among others.[7] Kriol Star lost its both games against hosts Al Ahli Tripoli and Stade Malien and was eliminated in the first round.[8] In November, however, FIBA announced that the team received a wild card for the East Division's Elite 16 round.[9] On December 2, they defeated the favored Urunani from Burundi in the semifinal to qualify for the 2025 BAL season.[10]

They began their BAL campaign in April, as they were allocated in the Sahara Conference. On the last game day, they defeated the defending champions Petro de Luanda in overtime, to clinch a playoff berth.[11] As the seventh seed, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Al Ahli Tripoli.[12]

In the following 2025–26 season, they were unable to qualify for the BAL again, after going winless in the Elite 16.[13]

2025 roster

[edit]

The following was Kriol Star's roster in the 2025 BAL qualification:Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

No. Pos. Nat. Player
0 G Morocco MAR Ali Lahrichi
2 F Cape Verde CPV Helton Lopes Correia
8 SG Cape Verde CPV Joel Almeidfa Tavares
9 G/F Cape Verde CPV Joel Almeida
11 SF Cape Verde CPV Luis Texeira
12 G United States USA Kclejuan Brown
16 C Cape Verde CPV Keven Gomes
22 G United States USA De'Angelo Stewart
23 C Mali MLI Oumar Barry
34 F Rwanda RWA Dieudonné Ndizeye
 

Season by season

[edit]

The following are Kriol Star's results in the BAL:

BAL champions Conference champions Playoff berth
Season League Regular season Post-season Head coach Captain
Conference Finish Wins Losses Win %
Kriol Star
2025 BAL Sahara 3rd 3 3 .500 Won seeding game (FUS Rabat)
Lost quarterfinals (Al Ahli) 		Hugo Da Silva Salgado Joel Almeida
Regular season record 3 3 .500 0 BAL championships
Playoffs record 1 1 .500

Notable players

[edit]

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

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Meet the team: Kriol Star". www.fiba.basketball. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Kriol Star (CAPE VERDE)". The BAL. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  3. ^ Lehohla, Manyehlisa (15 October 2024). "Almeida waxes lyrical about his music and success on the court". The Big Tip Off. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Kriol Star Stats, Games, Results, Rosters, Photos & Videos - FIBA Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L 2025 | FIBA.basketball". www.fiba.basketball. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Things to know about the Road to BAL 2025 - West Division". www.fiba.basketball. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Kriol Star Stats, Games, Results, Rosters, Photos & Videos - FIBA Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L 2025 | FIBA.basketball". www.fiba.basketball. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  7. ^ @theofficial_cbl; (11 October 2024). "The Kriol Star will play in the Road to BAL" – via Instagram.
  8. ^ "Party time in Tripoli as four teams advance to the Elite 16". www.fiba.basketball. 13 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Kriol Star receive wild card for East Division Elite 16". www.fiba.basketball. 24 November 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Short-handed Kriol Star stun star-studded Urunani, qualify for BAL 2025". www.fiba.basketball. 2 December 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Kriol Star stun Petro de Luanda in overtime to finish 3-3 in the Sahara Conference". The BAL. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Tripoli secure first 2025 BAL semifinals ticket". The BAL. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Kriol Star exit qualifier winless". www.fiba.basketball. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.


Stub icon

This article about a basketball team in Africa is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article about sports in Cape Verde is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.