Spintex Knights have returned to Ghana in high spirits after an impressive unbeaten run at the Road to Basketball Africa League (BAL) preliminary stage in Libya, securing qualification for the Elite 16 for the third consecutive year.

The Ghanaian side dominated Group B, winning all their matches against Nabaya of Guinea, Energie of Benin and Pythons of Liberia to advance to the next stage of the continental competition.

The team was welcomed at the Accra International Airport by club president Dr. Eric Opoku Antwi, Ghana Basketball Federation president Alex Kukula and some executives of the club, who congratulated the players and technical team on their achievement.

The Knights' latest accomplishment marks another significant step in their quest to secure a place in the BAL, Africa's premier men's club basketball competition.

Speaking after the team's arrival, Ghana Basketball Federation president Alex Kukula praised Spintex Knights for their impressive performances, describing their unbeaten qualification campaign as evidence of the quality and potential of basketball talent in Ghana.

“To see Ghanaian players perform at this level shows that we have people who are capable of competing at the highest level.

Their performances spoke for themselves, and for the first time, they have gone through the preliminary stage without losing a single match. That tells you how much progress the team has made,” Kukula said.

He, however, acknowledged the financial challenges facing basketball development in the country, noting that limited funding remains a major obstacle to providing clubs with the support they need to compete at the highest level.

He explained that the federation is exploring alternative funding opportunities to support its activities, leagues and clubs participating in international competitions.

“Although Spintex Knights are a private club, they represent Ghana whenever they compete internationally, so their success is also our success. We are looking at ways to generate funding to support the federation, the leagues and clubs in competitions like this. The Ministry's financial challenges are well known, so we must also find ways to support ourselves. Any assistance from the Ministry will, of course, be welcomed,” he added.

Head coach Selorm Thomas, meanwhile, attributed the team's success to lessons learned from their previous appearances at the preliminary stage, improved recruitment, a committed coaching staff and the players' willingness to execute the game plan.

“Having reached this stage consistently over the past two years, we knew we had to take the lessons from our previous campaigns and put them into practice. That was exactly what we did in Libya. We expected the opening game to be difficult, especially against Guinea, who have a strong basketball culture. We could not find videos of their games to scout them properly, so we had to adjust on the fly. Once we settled into the game, the players responded well, and we got the job done,” Thomas said.

He added that the team's recruitment strategy was designed to address areas in which they had struggled in previous campaigns, while praising the coaching staff and players for their collective effort.

“We brought in players who could give us what we were missing in previous years, and that made a difference. Seeing players like Justin step up and knock down three-pointers was encouraging because that was an area we needed to improve. The coaching staff did an excellent job, the players bought into the system, and everybody contributed. It was a collective effort, and I am happy we achieved our target,” he added.

Player James Amotoe also expressed delight at returning home with an unbeaten record, while admitting that the competition in Libya was far from easy.

“We are happy to be back home after winning all our matches. It was not easy because every team that takes part in the competition comes with the determination to win. Every game was a challenge, but I believe our desire and winning mentality helped us get through,” Amotoe said.

He assured supporters that the team would intensify preparations ahead of the Elite 16, with the ultimate objective of qualifying for the BAL.

“We will intensify our training and prepare even harder for the Elite 16. Our aim is to keep improving and make sure we qualify for the BAL itself,” he added.

With three consecutive Elite 16 appearances now secured, Spintex Knights will look to build on their unbeaten preliminary campaign and move one step closer to achieving their ambition of representing Ghana in the BAL.