Lusaka is hosting one of the five qualifying groups on the road to the Basketball Africa League, and the home side has made the most of it. Munali Suns beat Bravehearts of Malawi 79–66 at the NASDEC Sports Complex on Friday 30 October, News Diggers and FIBA reported, and on Saturday came from ten points down at half-time to beat Mozambique's Ferroviario da Beira 87–85. That leaves the Suns and the Dolphins of Botswana as the only teams with two wins from two in Group E of the Road to BAL 2027, and they play each other at 16:00 on Sunday 1 November.
Friday's win was built on the perimeter and a late run. FIBA's match report credits Ofure Ujadughele with a game-high 26 points, 15 of them in the third quarter, Elijah Mukelabai with 25 points and 13 rebounds and two dunks, and Douglas Kandulu with the rebounds and the blocks; with the score 64–61 and under eight minutes left, Munali scored 12 unanswered points to close it out, while Bravehearts made 10 of 31 three-point attempts. News Diggers, which had Munali 40–31 up at half-time, reported that coach David Musonda afterwards wanted better rebounding and ball retention.
Saturday: from 43–33 down
Beira led 43–33 at the interval on Saturday. Mukelabai, who finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and four steals and went six of seven from the free-throw line, brought the deficit to five with a coast-to-coast dunk, and Munali's defence on the three-point line in the second half, FIBA wrote, was the difference. Kandulu had 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, Ujadughele 13 points, five assists and five rebounds; for Beira, Joshua Thomas scored 27 and Ke Tarrious Bouchum 18. In the other Saturday game the Dolphins beat Bravehearts 78–74 after trailing 42–32 at half-time, Dallan Coleman scoring 20, for their second win of the week after beating Harare Kings 77–72 on Friday.
The format rewards the next two days. FIBA's guide to the competition says the top two teams in each of the five groups advance to an Elite 16 round, with the East Division's to be played in Nairobi from 23 to 29 November and the top two there qualifying for the 2027 BAL season. Group E has six teams, the others being Harare Kings of Zimbabwe and South Africa's Soweto Panthers, and FIBA's schedule has the Suns playing the Dolphins on Sunday, the Kings on Monday 2 November and the Panthers on Tuesday 3 November, all at 16:00. FIBA's preview had given the group's dates as 27 to 31 October; the published schedule now runs to 3 November.
Group E after two days, per FIBA
- Munali Suns (ZAM) 2–0; Dolphins (BOT) 2–0; Ferroviario da Beira (MOZ) 1–1; Harare Kings (ZIM) 1–1; Bravehearts (MWI) 0–2; Soweto Panthers (RSA) 0–2
- Sunday 1 November — Bravehearts v Panthers 10:00; Beira v Kings 13:00; Suns v Dolphins 16:00
- Monday 2 November — Suns v Kings 16:00; Tuesday 3 November — Panthers v Suns 16:00
- Top two go to the East Division Elite 16, Nairobi, 23–29 November
Sources: FIBA, “Suns, Dolphins go 2-0 after second day action in Group E” (31 Oct 2026); FIBA, “Beira record largest winning margin on opening day of Group E of the 2027 Road to BAL” (30 Oct 2026); FIBA, “FIBA Africa Champions Clubs Road to BAL 2027 — results and schedule” (1 Nov 2026); FIBA, “Introducing the Road to BAL 2027” (Oct 2026); News Diggers, “Munali Suns open BAL campaign with 79-66 win over Bravehearts” (31 Oct 2026).