Abidjan Basketball Club (ABC) late on Friday evening joined already qualified Kwara Falcons of Nigeria in the 2023 African Basketball League slated to hold at the BK Arena In Kigali, Rwanda.

In the keenly contested encounter played in Treichville in Abidjan, ABC edged Stade Malien of Mali 80-63 to book its place.

ABC dominated the highly-anticipated match-up from start to finish winning the first three quarters although the Ivorian champions lost the last quarter (22-17).

Captain Stephen Konate finished the game with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Forward Mike Fofana added 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, one block and an efficiency rating of 16 while Moussa Kone posted a double-double of 10 points, 10 rebounds and a 17 efficiency rating to help ABC advance to the BAL for the very first time.