The 2023–24 season was USM Alger's 62nd in existence, their 5th consecutive season in the top flight of the Algerian basketball, USM Alger are participating in this season's editions of the Algerian Cup and the Arab Club Basketball Championship.
Overview
USM Alger participated in the Arab Club Basketball Championship for the first time, where it fell into the Group B with Al Ittihad Alexandria, Al Ahli Doha of Qatar, Al-Seeb of Oman, and Dynamo Lebanon. On September 9, 2023, George Williams joined USM Alger and strengthened their roster to participate in this competition.[1] USM Alger finished in second place with three victories and one defeat.[2]USM Alger started the 35th edition of the Arab club championship very well by getting the best of Seib's (81-57), at the Al Gharafa hall in Doha, on the occasion of the first day of pool B.[3] In the Round of 16 they met with Qatar Club and won after overtime, USMA started its match poorly, often finding itself trailing. The first half also ended with a ten-point lead in favor of the Qataris (35–25). Stopping the journey in the quarter-finals against Beirut Club.[4][5] USM Alger benefited from the services of two players to participate in this tournament, namely Omar Belliche from NA Hussein Dey and Sidali Benzaime from Rouiba CB.
On October 18, 2023, The Ministry of Youth and Sports (MJS) announced that it was suspending all sport events “until further notice” in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The suspension was announced the day after a strike on a hospital in Gaza, which has been relentlessly shelling the Gaza Strip since the start of the war sparked on October 7 by the bloody attack. of the Palestinian Islamist movement on its soil.[6] On November 10, 2023, The first match in the Super Division was the derby against MC Alger where they won by three points (71–68) and the match was held without an audience in sympathy with Gaza. In a late match in the first round against ASS Oum El Bouaghi due to participation in the Arab Club Basketball Championship, USMA achieved a new victory with a score of 90-63, this consecutive victory propels the USMA players to sixth place in the ranking now totaling 4 points.[7] The Super Division summit between the defending champion USM Alger and its runner-up WO Boufarik, after it was postponed several times finally took place in the Hacène Harcha Arena where USM Alger lost (78-63) after being ahead in the first two quarters, USM Alger with 12 points is positioned third sharing this place with USM Blida.[8][9]
On February 5, 2024, the official page of the Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee announced that USM Alger player Faredj Messaoudi had signed a professional contract in the Japanese 3x3 Basketball League, becoming the first Algerian to obtain a professional contract in this sport.[10] On February 17, 2024, in the first match in the second leg, USMA achieved its heaviest result since the beginning of the season after winning away from home in Oum El Bouaghi against the local team with a score of (102–53), keeping the club in third place, one point behind runner-up NB Staoueli.[11] On May 8, 2024, the draw for the quarter-finals of the Algerian Cup was held, with USM Alger facing CSC Gué de Constantine in a match that take place in La Coupole d'Alger Arena.[12] USM Alger qualified for the semi-finals, the USMA basketball players took charge of the match well, taking a 20-point lead in the first quarter (29–09), then (42–28) at half-time. In the second half, the Usmists managed their lead on the scoreboard (57–37) in the third quarter, before ending the match with a 15-point lead (73–58).[13]
The first day of the first play-off tournament of the Super Division played in Staouéli. In this first match USM Alger was defeated by WO Boufarik (85–78).[14] In the second match against NB Staouéli, l'USMA was defeated for the second time in a row (75–67), to reduce his chances of qualifying for the final and defending his title.[15] On June 14, USM Alger qualified for the Algerian Cup final after winning against NA Hussein Dey (59–41), which was the first time they reached the final since 1996.[16] In the second stage of the Playoffs in Boufarik, USM Alger failed to qualify for the final and defend its title, settling for fifth place.[17] On July 17, USM Alger won the 53rd edition of the Algerian Basketball Cup, beating WO Boufarik, two-time holder of the trophy, with a score of (71-69). The “Rouge et Noir” thus manage to win their first Algerian Basketball Cup in the history, after the failure of their first attempt which dates back to the 1989 edition, lost against MC Alger (66-77).[18]
Players
Super Division roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
Note: The match was originally to be played on 27 February 2024, 5:00 p.m, but it was postponed due to rain entering the Salle Rais Hamidou.[22] The sports commission decides that the match is to be replayed at the opponent's home (MC Alger) at the Salle omnisport Abdelaziz Ben Tifour in Hydra on March 8, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. "Art 20 of the special regulations 2023–24". MC Alger is responsible for organizing the meeting and must put in place all the necessary arrangements for the smooth running of the game.
