ABC Fighters

ABC Fighters
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
Home	Away

Abidjan Basket Club Fighters, commonly known as ABC Fighters, is an Ivorian 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.

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)

2002 – 5th Place

2004 – Runners-up

2005 – Champions

2006 – 6th Place

2007 – 3rd Place

2012 – 8th Place

2014 – 11th Place

BAL Qualifiers (1 appearance)

2020 – Second Round

BAL season by season

Season	League	Conference	Regular season				Post-season	Head coach	Captain
Season	League	Conference	Finish	Wins	Losses	Win %	Post-season	Head coach	Captain
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.

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player
1	F	CIV	Mike Fofana
5	SF	CIV	Loukou Oka
8	F	CIV	Ismael Diarra
10	PG	CIV	Faman Abdallah Kone
11	G	CIV	Aristide Otto
12	F	CIV	Moussa Kone
15	SG	CIV	Stéphane Konaté (captain)
	F	SSD	Chudier Bile
	PG	USA	Alex Robinson
	C	NGA	Chris Obekpa
	SG	NIG	Abdoulaye Harouna

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: 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.

Head coaches

Franck Sylva: (-2023)
Liz Mills: (2023)^[7]
Milutin Nikolić: (2023–present)^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b "Notre Histoire" (in French). Retrieved 27 June 2021.
^ "ABC - Abidjan Basket Club Fighters". Twitter. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
^ "Vision" (in French). Retrieved 27 June 2021.
^ "Stephane spurs Abidjan Basket Club to BAL Season 3". FIBA.basketball. 2022-11-19. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
^ @afroballers (2024-09-25). "Karim is Abidjan Basketball Club's first player to have ever played in the NBA [...]" – via Instagram.
^ "Abidjan Basket Club clinch 2023/24 title". Afrobasket.com. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
^ Sikubwabo, Damas (2022-12-02). "Liz Mills joins Ivory Coast's ABC ahead of BAL 2023". The New Times. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
^ "Abidjan Basket Club at the Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L. 2024 2023". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2023-11-04.

External links

Abidjan Basket Club on Facebook

[history-1] "Notre Histoire" (in French). Retrieved 27 June 2021.

[2] "ABC - Abidjan Basket Club Fighters". Twitter. Retrieved 27 June 2021.

[3] "Vision" (in French). Retrieved 27 June 2021.

[4] "Stephane spurs Abidjan Basket Club to BAL Season 3". FIBA.basketball. 2022-11-19. Retrieved 2022-11-19.

[5] @afroballers (2024-09-25). "Karim is Abidjan Basketball Club's first player to have ever played in the NBA [...]" – via Instagram.

[6] "Abidjan Basket Club clinch 2023/24 title". Afrobasket.com. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-08-03.

[7] Sikubwabo, Damas (2022-12-02). "Liz Mills joins Ivory Coast's ABC ahead of BAL 2023". The New Times. Retrieved 2022-12-04.

[8] "Abidjan Basket Club at the Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L. 2024 2023". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2023-11-04.

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