The second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL ) started last weekend in Dakar , Senegal .
非洲篮球联赛（BAL）第二赛季上周末在塞内加尔达喀尔开赛。
Twelve teams will compete this season for the BAL title .
本赛季将有12支球队争夺BAL冠军。
Last year , Egypt's Zamalek won the championship .
去年，埃及的扎马雷克队夺得冠军。
The league was supposed to start in 2020 , but was delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic .
该联赛原定于2020年开始，但因新冠疫情推迟了一年。
Last year , the season took place over two weeks in Kigali , Rwanda .
去年的赛季在卢旺达基加利进行了两周。
This year , the schedule runs over three months and 38 games .
今年的赛程为期三个月，共38场比赛。
They will be played in Dakar , Kigali and Cairo , Egypt .
比赛将在达喀尔、基加利和埃及开罗举行。
The BAL is supported by America's National Basketball Association (NBA ) and FIBA , basketball's international governing body .
BAL得到了美国国家篮球协会（NBA）和国际篮球管理机构国际篮联（FIBA）的支持。
It is the first time the NBA has put money into a league outside of North America .
这是NBA首次向北美以外的联赛投资。
Victor Williams is NBA Africa's president .
维克多·威廉姆斯是NBA非洲的总裁。
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月在尼日利亚拉各斯举行的一场活动上，他说这个联赛证明了NBA有意“在整个非洲大陆推广这项运动”。
Sam Ahmedu is the president of FIBA Africa Zone 3 , which includes Nigeria , Africa's most populous nation .
萨姆·艾哈迈杜是国际篮联非洲第三区的主席，该区包括非洲人口最多的国家尼日利亚。
He said the expanded number of games will permit more people to see games in person .
他说，比赛场次增加将让更多人能够亲临现场观看比赛。
“It will help to popularize the game and attract more sponsorship ,” he said .
“这将有助于普及这项运动并吸引更多赞助。”他说。
A sponsor is a well-known company that supports a sports organization with money .
赞助商是指出钱支持体育组织的知名公司。
The league announced in 2021 that Obama received part ownership of NBA Africa in return for his work .
联赛在2021年宣布，奥巴马因其贡献获得了NBA非洲的部分所有权。
Obama said any money he receives will go to his foundation's programs in Africa .
奥巴马说，他收到的任何资金都将用于他的基金会在非洲的项目。
Dikembe Mutombo is a former NBA player from the Democratic Republic of Congo .
迪肯贝·穆托姆博是来自刚果民主共和国的前NBA球员。
He invested money to help start the league .
他投资帮助创办了这个联赛。
There are about 50 NBA players with African roots .
大约有50名NBA球员有非洲血统。
The most famous are Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks , Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors .
其中最著名的是密尔沃基雄鹿队的扬尼斯·阿德托昆博、费城76人队的乔尔·恩比德和多伦多猛龙队的帕斯卡尔·西亚卡姆。
The league is hoping to help little-known players improve their game and get attention .
联赛希望帮助不知名的球员提高球技并获得关注。
Last season , 15 scouts watched the league .
上赛季，有15名球探关注了这个联赛。
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球队都将有一名来自NBA非洲学院的年轻球员，该学院是位于塞内加尔萨利的青少年球员培训中心。
The program will provide another pathway for good African players “to reach their potential as players and people ,” said Amadou Gallo Fall .
阿马杜·加洛·福尔说，这个项目将为优秀的非洲球员提供另一条途径，“让他们作为球员和个人发挥潜力”。
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 .
不过，一位球队负责人认为，运动员打球不应只是为了进入NBA，也应是为了把BAL打造成一个伟大的联赛。
Regardless of whether the BAL becomes successful throughout Africa , one observer believes the new league will serve as a form of cultural exchange .
无论BAL能否在整个非洲取得成功，一位观察人士认为，这个新联赛都将成为一种文化交流的形式。
Scott Brooks is associate director of Arizona State University's Global Sport Institute .
斯科特·布鲁克斯是亚利桑那州立大学全球体育研究所的副所长。
He said when an American sport like basketball becomes more visible in a foreign country , it affects both cultures .
他说，当像篮球这样的美国运动在外国变得更加引人注目时，会对双方的文化都产生影响。
"It's not just American culture taking over .
“这不只是美国文化占据主导。
We always get a piece of other cultures coming back ," he said .
我们也总会从其他文化中有所收获。”他说。
"That's what really makes this exciting ."
“这正是它真正令人兴奋的地方。”
Brooks said something like the BAL is more than basketball .
布鲁克斯说，像BAL这样的东西不只是篮球。
“It is building leaders in Africa ,” he said .
“它正在非洲培养领导者。”他说。
Those interested in following the BAL can hear VOA's broadcasts of the games on the radio in Africa .
有兴趣关注BAL的人可以在非洲通过广播收听美国之音的比赛转播。
VOA will cover the games in English , French , Portuguese and two African languages : Kinyarwanda and Wolof .
美国之音将用英语、法语、葡萄牙语以及两种非洲语言——卢旺达语和沃洛夫语——报道这些比赛。