Basketball Academie Limburg, commonly known as BAL and for sponsorship reasons as PrismaWorx BAL, is a Dutch basketball club based in Weert in the province of Limburg. The club was founded in 2013 as an academy to develop youth players from the province of Limburg. The club entered the Dutch Basketball League for the 2017–18 season after the dissolution of the professional team BSW. Currently, the team plays in the Promotiedivisie.
In 2021, BAL won its first-ever trophy when it won the DBL Cup in surprising fashion as the team was ranked eight in the DBL that season.
History Foundation The club was established on 9 April 2013 to function as a club for regional talent from the province of Limburg. In its first years, the team played with several youth teams in domestic competitions.
In the 2017 offseason the professional club BSW from Weert and BAL intended a merger, which would integrate BSW into BAL. Following BSW going defunct during this offseason, BAL decided to take its place in the DBL. As BAL played in the same home arena and the team consisted of several of the same players, the team can be considered a phoenix club. Radenko Varagić coached the team.
First DBL seasons In its debut season, BAL finished in the ninth and last place in the DBL, winning 4 out of its 32 games. The team consisted of a selection of young promising players, such as guard Sam van Dijk who was named the DBL Most Improved Player in the club's debut season. On 1 August 2018, BAL signed its first ever foreign player when American center Tony Washington signed for one year. In its second season, BAL once again finished last in the DBL with this time five wins in 2018–19.
In the 2020–21 season, BAL reached the playoffs for the first time after finishing in the eight seed. This season the team also won the 2021 DBL Cup, the club's first-ever trophy. In the semi-finals, BAL upset first-seeded ZZ Leiden and in the final the team was too strong for Yoast United. Trevor Jasinsky led the team in scoring in the final with 27 points.
Since the 2021–22 season, BAL plays in the BNXT League, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.
In June 2024, BAL signed its first name sponsorship contract and agreed to be named PrismaWorx BAL for three years, starting from the 2024–25 season.
Voluntary relegation
In march 2026, the club announced that they would not apply for a license for the BNXT League season 26-27. The club was unable to find sufficient sponsors and capabale management to remain competitive in the league. The club hopes to join the new Dutch league which is to be founded as a level between Promotiedivisie and BNXT League.
Honours DBL Cup Champions (1): 2021 Dutch Supercup Runners-up (1): 2021
Season by season
SeasonTierLeagueNBB Cup BAL2016–17 4 1e divisie 9th 2017–18 1 DBL 9th Withdrew2018–19 1 DBL 9th Eightfinals 2019–20 1 DBL 6th Eightfinals2020–21 1 DBL 8thChampion2021–22 1BNXT League NL 7thFourth Round BNXT 15th2022–23 1BNXT League NL 8thFourth Round BNXT 18th2023–24 1BNXT League NL 5thQuarterfinals BNXT 10th2024–25 1BNXT League NL 8thEightfinals BNXT 18th2025–26 1BNXT League NL 8thEightfinals BNXT 18th2026–27 2 Promotiedivisie
Players Current roster
Individual awards BNXT League Rising Star of the Year Sander Hollanders – 2022 DBL Most Improved Player Sam van Dijk – 2018 DBL All-Rookie Team Jacco Fritz – 2018 Nino Gorissen – 2018 Ivan Simic – 2019
Top scorers by seasons The following players led BAL in scoring in each DBL or BNXT League season: SeasonNamePPG2017–18 Sam van Dijk12.22018–19 Tony Washington12.22019–20 Trey Burch-Manning14.52020–21 Trevor Jasinsky15.82021–22 D. J. Mitchell2022–23 Noel Botuli2023–24 Noel Botuli2024–25 Lionel Colson2025–26 Kara Sene
Club records Bold denotes still active with team. As of 14 April 2021: CategoryPlayerRecord Games played Wietze Nossek 120 Points scored Wietze Nossek 754 Rebounds Roel Aarts 443 Assists Roel van Overbeek 329 Steals Roel van Overbeek 94 Blocks Roel Aarts 41 Three-point field goals Sander Hollanders 141
Notes
References
External links Eurobasket.com BAL Page