The second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL ) started last weekend in Dakar , Senegal .
非洲籃球聯賽（BAL）第二季上週末在塞內加爾達卡開打。
Twelve teams will compete this season for the BAL title .
本季將有12支球隊爭奪BAL冠軍。
Last year , Egypt's Zamalek won the championship .
去年，埃及的扎馬雷克隊奪得冠軍。
The league was supposed to start in 2020 , but was delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic .
該聯賽原定於2020年開始，但因新冠疫情延後了一年。
Last year , the season took place over two weeks in Kigali , Rwanda .
去年的賽季在盧安達吉佳利進行了兩週。
This year , the schedule runs over three months and 38 games .
今年的賽程為期三個月，共38場比賽。
They will be played in Dakar , Kigali and Cairo , Egypt .
比賽將在達卡、吉佳利和埃及開羅舉行。
The BAL is supported by America's National Basketball Association (NBA ) and FIBA , basketball's international governing body .
BAL得到了美國國家籃球協會（NBA）和國際籃球管理機構國際籃總（FIBA）的支持。
It is the first time the NBA has put money into a league outside of North America .
這是NBA首次向北美以外的聯賽投資。
Victor Williams is NBA Africa's president .
維克多·威廉斯是NBA非洲的總裁。
At an event in Lagos , Nigeria , in February , he said the league is evidence of the NBA's interest in “growing the game across the continent .”
今年2月在奈及利亞拉哥斯舉行的一場活動上，他說這個聯賽證明了NBA有意「在整個非洲大陸推廣這項運動」。
Sam Ahmedu is the president of FIBA Africa Zone 3 , which includes Nigeria , Africa's most populous nation .
薩姆·艾哈邁杜是國際籃總非洲第三區的主席，該區包括非洲人口最多的國家奈及利亞。
He said the expanded number of games will permit more people to see games in person .
他說，比賽場次增加將讓更多人能夠親臨現場觀看比賽。
“It will help to popularize the game and attract more sponsorship ,” he said .
「這將有助於普及這項運動並吸引更多贊助。」他說。
A sponsor is a well-known company that supports a sports organization with money .
贊助商是指出錢支持體育組織的知名公司。
The league announced in 2021 that Obama received part ownership of NBA Africa in return for his work .
聯賽在2021年宣布，歐巴馬因其貢獻獲得了NBA非洲的部分所有權。
Obama said any money he receives will go to his foundation's programs in Africa .
歐巴馬說，他收到的任何資金都將用於他的基金會在非洲的計畫。
Dikembe Mutombo is a former NBA player from the Democratic Republic of Congo .
迪肯貝·穆湯波是來自剛果民主共和國的前NBA球員。
He invested money to help start the league .
他投資幫助創辦了這個聯賽。
There are about 50 NBA players with African roots .
大約有50名NBA球員有非洲血統。
The most famous are Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks , Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors .
其中最著名的是密爾瓦基公鹿隊的揚尼斯·安戴托昆波、費城76人隊的喬爾·恩比德和多倫多暴龍隊的帕斯卡·席亞康。
The league is hoping to help little-known players improve their game and get attention .
聯賽希望幫助不知名的球員提升球技並獲得關注。
Last season , 15 scouts watched the league .
上季，有15名球探關注了這個聯賽。
This year , each BAL team will have a young player from the NBA Academy Africa , a training center in Saly , Senegal , for teenage players .
今年，每支BAL球隊都將有一名來自NBA非洲學院的年輕球員，該學院是位於塞內加爾薩利的青少年球員培訓中心。
The program will provide another pathway for good African players “to reach their potential as players and people ,” said Amadou Gallo Fall .
阿馬杜·加洛·福爾說，這個計畫將為優秀的非洲球員提供另一條途徑，「讓他們作為球員和個人發揮潛力」。
He is the BAL president .
他是BAL的主席。
One team leader , however , believes athletes should not only play to try to make the NBA , but to make the BAL a great league .
不過，一位球隊負責人認為，運動員打球不應只是為了進入NBA，也應是為了把BAL打造成一個偉大的聯賽。
Regardless of whether the BAL becomes successful throughout Africa , one observer believes the new league will serve as a form of cultural exchange .
無論BAL能否在整個非洲取得成功，一位觀察人士認為，這個新聯賽都將成為一種文化交流的形式。
Scott Brooks is associate director of Arizona State University's Global Sport Institute .
史考特·布魯克斯是亞利桑那州立大學全球體育研究所的副所長。
He said when an American sport like basketball becomes more visible in a foreign country , it affects both cultures .
他說，當像籃球這樣的美國運動在外國變得更加引人注目時，會對雙方的文化都產生影響。
"It's not just American culture taking over .
「這不只是美國文化佔據主導。
We always get a piece of other cultures coming back ," he said .
我們也總會從其他文化中有所收穫。」他說。
"That's what really makes this exciting ."
「這正是它真正令人興奮的地方。」
Brooks said something like the BAL is more than basketball .
布魯克斯說，像BAL這樣的東西不只是籃球。
“It is building leaders in Africa ,” he said .
「它正在非洲培養領導者。」他說。
Those interested in following the BAL can hear VOA's broadcasts of the games on the radio in Africa .
有興趣關注BAL的人可以在非洲透過廣播收聽美國之音的比賽轉播。
VOA will cover the games in English , French , Portuguese and two African languages : Kinyarwanda and Wolof .
美國之音將用英語、法語、葡萄牙語以及兩種非洲語言——盧安達語和沃洛夫語——報導這些比賽。