Madagascar's COSPN will travel to Hoima, Uganda, for the Road to BAL 2027 East Division group stage, where the national champions have been drawn in group D alongside Urunani of Burundi, Patriots Basketball Club of South Sudan, Namuwongo Blazers of Uganda and Ushundzi Basket of the Comoros. The group phase runs from October 21 to 25, with the top two finishers advancing to the Elite 16 scheduled for Nairobi from November 17 to 22.
Two-time defending Madagascar champions, COSPN earned their continental berth by retaining the national title. Club president Samy Olivier Harison acknowledged the difficulty of the task. "Le COSPN se trouve dans un groupe D très relevé. Pour affronter les adversaires, nous comptons nous renforcer avec la présence d'au moins deux renforts étrangers," he said, indicating plans to add at least two foreign players before the tournament.
Urunani brings extensive Road to BAL experience and a reputation for intense, physical basketball, while hosts Namuwongo Blazers return for a second consecutive year and will benefit from familiar surroundings. Patriots Basketball Club of South Sudan has progressed significantly in recent seasons, and Ushundzi Basket, less familiar to Malgache fans, completes the group; COSPN defeated the Comorian side 87-52 in 2023.
COSPN have prior continental pedigree, having reached the Elite 16 unbeaten in the group stage during the 2023 campaign, when Elly Randriamampionona, Livio Ratianarivo and Rashawn Langston featured prominently. With four matches in five days away from home, depth and recovery will be decisive if the Police club is to clear its first hurdle.
