ABC Fighters
Basketball team in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abidjan Basket Club Fighters, commonly known as ABC Fighters, is an Ivorian professional basketball club based in the city of Abidjan. Founded in 1997, the team is the most successful men teams in the country, with a record 22 national championships, and one continental FIBA Africa Champions Cup in 2005. The home arena of the team is the Palais des Sports de Treichville.
1997–2021
ABC Fighters
2021–present
| ABC Fighters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Nickname | Les Dangôrôs | ||
| Leagues | Ivorian Basketball Championship Basketball Africa League | ||
| Founded | 1997 | ||
| History | Abidjan Basket Club 1997–2021 ABC Fighters 2021–present | ||
| Arena | Palais des Sports de Treichville | ||
| Capacity | 3,500 | ||
| Location | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||
| Team colors | Red, White, Orange | ||
| President | Boubakari Touré | ||
| Head coach | Milutin Nikolić | ||
| Championships | 1 FIBA Africa Cup 22 Ivorian Leagues 12 Ivorian Cups 2 Ivorian SuperCups | ||
|
| |||
History
The ABC club was established in 1997 by members of the basketball section of the Africa Sports d'Abidjan football club.[1] In 2002, the team played in the FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup for the first time. In 2004, the first-ever Ivorian Basketball Championship was won.
In 2005, ABC won the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup and was crowned African champions for the first time. In the final, ABC beat Angolan club Interclube 67–66. Stéphane Konaté was named the competition's Most Valuable Player.
In 2021, the team was re-named from ABC to ABC Fighters.[2] The team is nicknamed Dangôrôs, a term that designates in Malinké those who have earned the respect devolved to the elders.[3]
On 18 November 2022, ABC defeated Stade Malien in the Road to BAL semi-finals and clinched their first-ever ticket to the Basketball Africa League (BAL).[4]
In the playoffs of the 2023 BAL season, ABC played against Petro de Luanda in the quarter-finals. They lost 88-84.
In September 2024, the Fighters signed Karim Mané, the first former NBA player to sign with the team.[5]
Honours
Domestic
Ivorian Basketball Championship[1]
- Champions (22): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024[6]
Ivorian Cup
- Champions (12): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
Ivorian SuperCup
- Champions (2): 2005, 2006
International
FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup
- Winners (1): 2005
In African competitions
FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup (7 appearances)
|
|
BAL Qualifiers (1 appearance)
- 2020 – Second Round
BAL season by season
| Season | League | Conference | Regular season | Postseason | Head coach | Captain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Win % | |||||||
| ABC Fighters | ||||||||||
| 2023 | BAL | Sahara | 4th | 3 | 2 | .600 | Lost quarterfinals (Petro de Luanda, 84–88) | Liz Mills | Stéphane Konaté | |
| Season record | 3 | 2 | .600 | |||||||
| Playoffs record | 0 | 1 | .000 | |||||||
Players
Current roster
- As of 26 February 2023.
Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.
Head coach: 
Liz Mills
For the 2023 BAL Playoffs the team signed Kenyan forward Tylor Ongwae, Tunisian PG Omar Abada and Guinean centre Ousmane Drame.
Notable players
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:
|
