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Cape Town Tigers

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Cape Town Tigers
2023–24 Cape Town Tigers season
Cape Town Tigers logo
LeagueBNL
BAL
South African National Championship
Founded2019
HistoryCape Town Tigers
2019–present
LocationGugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa
Team colorsBlack, White, Gold
     
Head coachFlorsheim Ngwenya
OwnershipSeverus LLC
Championships3 (2021, 2022, 2023 BNL)
Websitewww.capetowntigers.com

The Cape Town Tigers are a South African professional basketball team founded in Cape Town.[1] The Tigers have played in the Basketball National League (BNL) and played in three seasons of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) between 2022 and 2024.

Established in 2019, the Tigers are based in Gugulethu, and have won the South African national championship three times, and qualified for the BAL through the Road to BAL three times.

History

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The Cape Town Tigers (Pty) Ltd. was founded in 2019 by U.S.-based holding company Severus LLC.[2][3][4]

The Tigers' first roster featured American import players Davon Dillard, Shaq McFarlan and Nigerian import Austin Ajukwa. Two former NBA players Billy Preston and Ben Uzoh joined the second roster in 2021 and helped winning the first national championship. Several players for the South African national team were also on the team, such as Pieter Prinsloo, Christopher Gabriel, Thabo Sithole and Lehlogonolo Tholo.

In September 2021, the Tigers won their first national championship. The team beat Jozi Nuggets after overtime in the final, behind Ben Uzoh who scored 22 points in the championship game.[5] Later in the year, the team competed in the qualification games of the BAL for the first time. The team finished third without playing its last game which was forfeited by opponent New Star after players tested positive for COVID-19.[6]

On August 22, 2022, the Tigers successfully defended their national title.[7] Three months later, on November 26, the Tigers clinched their second consecutive BAL spot after beating City Oilers in the Road to BAL semi-finals.[8]

The Cape Town Tigers were quarter-finalists in the BAL once again in 2023, as they lost to Stade Malien in the playoffs.[9]

Since June 2023, the Cape Town Tigers have joined the Basketball National League (BNL), the most notable private men's league in the country. They won the 2023 championship, following a 5–0 record in the group phase and wide-margin wins in both the semi-finals and finals.[10]

The Tigers had their most successful BAL season to date in the 2024 season, where they finished in fourth place.[11] They were able to eliminate top-seeded FUS Rabat in the quarterfinals after overtime,[12] but lost to the eventual champions Petro de Luanda in the semifinals.[13] The Tigers' star player Samkelo Cele was named to the All-BAL Team, and was later invited to play in the NBA Summer League.[14]

In June 2024, the Tigers withdrew from the 2024 BNL season as they faced "budgetary constraints".[15] In August, the club was probed by FIBA for alleged player payment discrepancy.[16] In August, founder and CEO Raphael Edwards stepped down.[17]

Honours

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South African National Championship
  • Champions (2): 2021, 2022

Basketball National League

Basketball Africa League

Season by season

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Key
Playoffs berth

BAL (2022–present)

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Season League Regular season Post-season Head Coach Captain
Conference Finish Played Wins Losses Win %
Cape Town Tigers
2022 BAL Nile 3rd 5 2 3 .400 Lost quarterfinals (Monastir) 67–106 Relton Booysen Pieter Prinsloo
2023 BAL Nile 4th 5 2 3 .400 Lost quarterfinals (Stade Malien) 69–78 Rasheed Hazzard
2024 BAL Kalahari 3rd 4 1 3 .250 Lost seeding game (Al Ahly Ly) 67–87
Won quarterfinal (FUS Rabat) 91–88OT
Lost semifinal (Petro de Luanda) 86–96OT
Lost third place game (Rivers Hoopers) 57–80 		Florsheim Ngwenya Lebesa Selepe
Season record 14 5 9 .357
Playoffs record 6 1 5 .167


Players

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Main category: Cape Town Tigers players

Current roster

[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Cape Town Tigers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age
3 South Africa Whitbread, Dylan 30 – (1994-10-27)27 October 1994
G 5 United States Ferguson, Terrance 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 26 – (1998-05-17)17 May 1998
G 10 South Africa Selepe, Lebesa 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 33 – (1991-03-13)13 March 1991
G 11 South Africa Mofokeng, Lebohang 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 32 – (1992-07-24)24 July 1992
PF 14 South Africa Sibanyoni, Nkosinathi 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 26 – (1998-05-24)24 May 1998
SF 22 United States Larrier, Terry 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 29 – (1995-08-15)15 August 1995
25 South Africa Cele, Samkelo 26 – (1997-12-28)28 December 1997
C 41 South Africa Prinsloo, Pieter 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 32 – (1992-01-07)7 January 1992
44 South Africa Bondonno, Luke 22 – (2002-09-21)21 September 2002
C 50 South Africa Gabriel, Christopher 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 35 – (1988-12-19)19 December 1988
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 16 December 2023

Notable players

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

Head coaches

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Thus far, the Tigers have had three head coaches:

BAL denotes the coach only coached the Tigers during Basketball Africa League games.

References

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  1. ^ "Gugulethu-based club on track for Basketball African League 2022". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Introducing Cape Town's Professional Basketball Team: The Cape Town Tigers". PRWeb. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Cape Town's Tigers crowned SA's champs in basketball". www.capetownetc.com. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Cape Town Tigers (SOUTH AFRICA)". The BAL. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  5. ^ "D'Tigers Ben Uzoh leads Cape Town Tigers to South Africa club championship". Premium Times. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Cape Town Tigers qualify for BAL after New Star forfeit". ESPN.com. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Tigers sweep all to become 2022 South African champions and will head to BAL qualifiers". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Tigers earn a hard-fought victory over Oilers to qualify for the BAL 2023". FIBA.basketball. 26 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  9. ^ "DIARRA'S SIXTH DOUBLE-DOUBLE STEERS STADE MALIEN INTO SEMI-FINALS". The BAL. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Cape Town Tigers are 2023 BNL winners". Afrobasket.com. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Rivers Hoopers finish third at 2024 BAL". The BAL. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Cape Town Tigers stun top-seeded FUS Rabat in biggest achievement for South African basketball". The BAL. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Petro see off resilient Cape Town Tigers in overtime to return to the BAL Final". The BAL. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Cape Town basketball star invited to NBA Summer League". CapeTown ETC. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  15. ^ Basketball National League [@bnlsa] (14 June 2024). "We're thrilled to share the revised 2024 BNL fixture with you! Note that Cape Town Tigers are excluded, and EC Windbreakers have been relegated. Stay tuned for more updates and let the games begin!" – via Instagram.
  16. ^ "BAL probe payment discrepancy at Cape Town Tigers". ESPN.com. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  17. ^ "BAL side Cape Town Tigers' CEO Edwards exits club". ESPN.com. 21 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  18. ^ Lehohla, Manyehlisa (7 October 2022). "Florsheim Ngwenya the right fit for the Tigers' BAL ambition". The Big Tip Off. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
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