The Cape Town Tigers are a South African professional basketball team founded in Cape Town.[1] The Tigers play in the Basketball National League (BNL) and the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
| Cape Town Tigers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 2023–24 Cape Town Tigers season | |||
 | |||
| League | BNL BAL South African National Championship | ||
| Founded | 2019 | ||
| History | Cape Town Tigers 2019–present | ||
| Location | Gugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa | ||
| Team colors | Black, White, Gold | ||
| President | Raphael Edwards | ||
| Head coach | Florsheim Ngwenya | ||
| Team captain | Pieter Prinsloo | ||
| Ownership | Severus LLC | ||
| Championships | 3 (2021, 2022, 2023 BNL) | ||
| Website | www | ||
Established in 2019, the Tigers have won the South African national championship three times and qualified for the Basketball Africa League (BAL) finals through the Road to BAL three times.
History
editThe 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]
Honours
edit- Champions (3): 2021, 2022, 2023
- Champions (1): 2023
Season by season
edit| Key |
|---|
| Playoffs berth |
BAL (2022–present)
edit| 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
editCurrent roster
editNote: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| Cape Town Tigers roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Updated: 16 December 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable players
editNote: 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:
|
Head coaches
editThus far, the Tigers have had three head coaches:
Raphael Edwards: (2021)
Relton Booysen: (2021–2022)- Florsheim Ngwenya: (2022)[14]
- Rasheed Hazzard: (2023BAL)
- Florsheim Ngwenya: (2023-present)
BAL denotes the coach only coached the Tigers during Basketball Africa League games.
References
edit- ^ "Gugulethu-based club on track for Basketball African League 2022". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "Introducing Cape Town's Professional Basketball Team: The Cape Town Tigers". PRWeb. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ "Cape Town's Tigers crowned SA's champs in basketball". www.capetownetc.com. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "Cape Town Tigers (SOUTH AFRICA)". The BAL. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ "D'Tigers Ben Uzoh leads Cape Town Tigers to South Africa club championship". Premium Times. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ "Cape Town Tigers qualify for BAL after New Star forfeit". ESPN.com. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Tigers sweep all to become 2022 South African champions and will head to BAL qualifiers". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Tigers earn a hard-fought victory over Oilers to qualify for the BAL 2023". FIBA.basketball. 26 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "DIARRA'S SIXTH DOUBLE-DOUBLE STEERS STADE MALIEN INTO SEMI-FINALS". The BAL. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Cape Town Tigers are 2023 BNL winners". Afrobasket.com. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Rivers Hoopers finish third at 2024 BAL". The BAL. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Cape Town Tigers stun top-seeded FUS Rabat in biggest achievement for South African basketball". The BAL. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "Petro see off resilient Cape Town Tigers in overtime to return to the BAL Final". The BAL. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ Lehohla, Manyehlisa (7 October 2022). "Florsheim Ngwenya the right fit for the Tigers' BAL ambition". The Big Tip Off. Retrieved 25 October 2022.