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The second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) started last weekend in Dakar, Senegal.
上周末，非洲篮球联赛第二赛季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支球队争夺非洲篮球联赛冠军。
Last year, Egypt's Zamalek won the championship.
去年，埃及的扎马雷克获得了冠军。
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，这个赛季在卢旺达的基加利举行了两个多星期。
This year, the schedule runs over three months and 38 games.
今年，赛程超过3个月，38场比赛。
They will be played in Dakar, Kigali and Cairo, Egypt.
他们将在达喀尔、基加利和埃及开罗比赛。
The BAL is supported by America's National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA, basketball's international governing body.
非洲篮球联赛是由美国职业篮球联赛和国际篮球管理机构国际篮联支持的。
It is the first time the NBA has put money into a league outside of North America.
这是美国职业篮球联赛第一次向北美以外的联赛投资。
Victor Williams is NBA Africa's president.
维克多·威廉姆斯是美国职业篮球联赛非洲区总裁。
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中，他表示，该联赛证明了美国职业篮球联赛有兴趣“在整个非洲大陆发展篮球运动”。
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，该区域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，增加比赛数量将允许更多的人亲自观看比赛。
"It will help to popularize the game and attract more sponsorship," he said.
他说：“这将有助于推广这项运动，并吸引更多的赞助。”
A sponsor is a well-known company that supports a sports organization with money.
赞助商指的是为体育组织提供资金支持的知名公司。
Beyond sponsorships from Nike and Pepsi, the league also has the support of former United States president Barack Obama who is working to help promote NBA Africa.
除了耐克和百事可乐的赞助外，该联赛还得到了美国前总统贝拉克·奥巴马的支持，奥巴马正在努力推动美国职业篮球联赛在非洲的发展。
The league announced in 2021 that Obama received part ownership of NBA Africa in return for his work.
该联赛在2021年宣布，作为对奥巴马工作的回报，他获得了非洲篮球联赛的部分所有权。
Obama said any money he receives will go to his foundation's programs in Africa.
奥巴马说，他收到的所有钱都将捐给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·穆托姆博是一名来自刚果民主共和国的前NBA球员。
He invested money to help start the league.
他投资建立了非洲篮球联赛。
Soccer is the most popular sport in Africa, but with a number of NBA players who are either from Africa or have an African parent, the sport of basketball is growing fast.
在非洲，最受欢迎的运动是足球，但随着许多来自非洲或父母是非洲人的NBA球员的加入，篮球运动正在迅速发展。
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.
最著名的是密尔沃基雄鹿队的扬尼斯·安特托昆博、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.
该联赛希望帮助鲜为人知的球员提高他们的比赛水平，并获得关注。
Last season, 15 scouts watched the league.
上个赛季，15名球探观看了该联赛。
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，每支非洲篮球联赛球队将有一名来自NBA非洲篮球学院的年轻球员，该学院是一个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·法尔说，该项目将为优秀的非洲球员提供另一条途径，以“发挥他们作为球员和人的潜力”。
He is the BAL president.
他是非洲篮球联赛的主席。
One team leader, however, believes athletes should not only play to try to make the NBA, but to make the BAL a great league.
然而，一位领队认为，运动员比赛不仅应该让NBA成为一个伟大的联赛，也应该把非洲篮球联赛打造成一个伟大的联赛。
"I believe the BAL will grow as big as the NBA and bigger," said Relton Booysen, coach of the Cape Town Tigers, a new team in the BAL.
开普敦老虎队是非洲篮球联赛中的一支新球队，其教练雷顿·布伊森说：“我相信非洲篮球联赛会变得和NBA一样大，甚至更大。”
Regardless of whether the BAL becomes successful throughout Africa, one observer believes the new league will serve as a form of cultural exchange.
无论非洲篮球联赛能否在整个非洲取得成功，一位观察家认为，新的联赛将会成为一种文化交流形式。
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，当诸如篮球之类的美国运动在外国变得更加引人注目时，它会影响两种文化。
"It's not just American culture taking over.
他说：“不只是美国文化占据主导地位。
We always get a piece of other cultures coming back," he said.
我们总会把一些其他文化带回来。”
"That's what really makes this exciting."
“这才是真正让人兴奋的地方。”
Brooks said something like the BAL is more than basketball.
布鲁克斯说，诸如非洲篮球联赛之类的比赛不仅仅关乎篮球。
"It is building leaders in Africa," he said.
他说：“它正在培养非洲的领导者”。
Those interested in following the BAL can hear VOA's broadcasts of the games on the radio in Africa.
那些有兴趣关注非洲篮球联赛的人可以在非洲的电台上听美国之音对比赛的广播。
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、葡萄牙语和两种非洲语言：金亚瓦达语和沃洛夫语对该联赛进行报道。
Video of the games will be on the internet at TheBAL.com and NBA.com.
比赛的视频将在TheBAL.com和NBA.com.网站上发布。
I'm Dan Friedell.
丹·弗里德尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
