2023–24 Cape Town Tigers season

Cape Town Tigers
2023–24 season
Head coach	Florsheim Ngwenya
Basketball National League	Withdrew
BAL	Fourth Place
	← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 season of the Cape Town Tigers was the 4th season in the team's history.

Following their championship in the 2023 Basketball National League (BNL), the Tigers played in the Road to BAL. Under Florsheim Ngwenya as head coach, the Tigers went undefeated (5–0) in the qualifiers, and thus they will play in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) for a third straight season.

In the 2024 BAL season, the Tigers struggled in the Kalahari Conference, which was hosted in South Africa. In the playoffs, entering as the 8th seed,^[1] they managed to oust favorites FUS Rabat in the quarterfinals.^[2] After losing to Petro de Luanda in the semifinals and the Rivers Hoopers in the third place game, they finished in fourth place, the best result in Tigers' history.^[3]

The Tigers were supposed to play in the 2024 BNL season in July 2024, however, they withdrew because of budgetary reasons.^[4]

Players

BAL

Billy Preston returned to the Tigers after a one year absence from the team, but only played in the conference stage. For the playoffs, the Tigers added former player Dhieu Deing, center Brian Bridgeforth, and Abdou Ndoye. Storm Gilchrist was dropped from the roster before the playoffs.

The following roster includes all players who appeared in a BAL game for the Tigers between March and June 2024.

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.	Name	Ht.	Age
SG	1	Deing, Dhieu (I)	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	23 – (2001-08-28)28 August 2001
PG	2	Diarra, Cartier (I)	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	26 – (1998-02-06)6 February 1998
C	7	Mthembu, Somusa	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	32 – (1992-03-26)26 March 1992
G	10	Selepe, Lebesa (C)	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	33 – (1991-03-13)13 March 1991
SG	11	Mofokeng, Lebo	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	32 – (1992-07-24)24 July 1992
SG	12	Whitbread, Dylan	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	30 – (1994-10-27)27 October 1994
PF	13	Gilchrist, Storm	2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)	19 – (2005-04-06)6 April 2005
PF	14	Sibanyoni, Nkosinathi	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	26 – (1998-05-24)24 May 1998
SF	15	Manyang, Ngor (I)	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	31 – (1993-12-13)13 December 1993
G	23	Cele, Samkelo	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	27 – (1997-12-28)28 December 1997
PF	24	Preston, Billy (I)	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	27 – (1997-10-26)26 October 1997
PF/C	28	Bridgeforth, Brian (I)	2.10 m (6 ft 11 in)	30 – (1994-05-03)3 May 1994
C	34	Diop, Yakhya (E)	2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)	18 – (2006-12-12)12 December 2006
C	45	Ndoye, Abdou (I)	2.16 m (7 ft 1 in)	35 – (1989-11-21)21 November 1989

Head coach

Florsheim Ngwenya

Assistant coach(es)

Vincent Ntunja

Legend

(C) Team captain
(I) Import player
(E): BAL Elevate program player
Injured

Roster

Updated: 17 March 2024

Road to BAL roster

Used from October–December 2023.

The following roster was used during the Elite 16 of the Road to BAL.

Cape Town Tigers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Age
SF	3	Whitbread, Dylan	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	30 – (1994-10-27)27 October 1994
G	5	Ferguson, Terrance (I)	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	26 – (1998-05-17)17 May 1998
G	10	Selepe, Lebesa	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	33 – (1991-03-13)13 March 1991
G	11	Mofokeng, Lebohang	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	32 – (1992-07-24)24 July 1992
PF	14	Sibanyoni, Nkosinathi	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	26 – (1998-05-24)24 May 1998
SF	22	Larrier, Terry (I)	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	29 – (1995-08-15)15 August 1995
SF	25	Cele, Samkelo	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	27 – (1997-12-28)28 December 1997
C	41	Prinsloo, Pieter	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	32 – (1992-01-07)7 January 1992
SG	44	Bondonno, Luke	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	22 – (2002-09-21)21 September 2002
C	50	Gabriel, Christopher	2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)	36 – (1988-12-19)19 December 1988

Head coach

Florsheim Ngwenya

Legend

(C) Team captain
(I) Import player
Injured

Roster

Updated: 16 December 2023

Transactions

In

No.	Pos.	Name	Age	Moving from	Type	Ends	Date	Source
22	G/F	Terry Larier	27	Free agent	Free agent	Undisclosed	September 26, 2023	^[5]
5	G	Terrance Ferguson	25	GTK Gliwice	Free agent	Undisclosed	September 27, 2023	^[6]
9	G	Cartier Diarra	25	Free agent	Free agent	Undisclosed	October 6, 2023	^[7]
–	G	Caleb Magua	21	Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Spiders	Free agent	Undisclosed	October 6, 2023	^[8]
–	PF	Lamine Diarra	25	Free agent	Free agent	Undisclosed	October 7, 2023	^[9]

Out

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Moving to		Type	Date	Source
1	G		Evans Ganapamo	28	Bangui Sporting Club		End of contract	September 2023	^[10]
41	F		Pieter Prinsloo	31	Universidad de Concepción		End of contract	December 2023	^[11]

Competitions

Road to BAL

Elite 16

21 November 2023 1	Cape Town Tigers	76–61	Dynamo	Ellis Park Arena, Johannesburg
20:00	Scoring by quarter: 17-14, 10-28, 20-8, 29-11
	Pts: Larrier 25 Rebs: Sibanyoni 13 Asts: Larrier 5	Report	Pts: Nijimbere 14 Rebs: Otobo 18 Asts: Morman 4	Referees: Tonton Banza Kalume (DRC), Haytham Ihaqaf (LBY), Diallo Mahamadou (MLI)

22 November 2023 2	Pazi	87–95	Cape Town Tigers	Ellis Park Arena, Johannesburg
20:00	Scoring by quarter: 25-11, 22-19, 13-31, 21-14
		Report	Pts: Sele 30	Referees: Mbaye Seye (SEN), Wael Mostafa (EGY), Francisco Tando (ANG)

23 November 2023 3	Cape Town Tigers	69–61	NBA Academy Africa	Ellis Park Arena, Johannesburg
14:00	Scoring by quarter: 13-16, 15-14, 19-20, 22-11
		Report		Referees: Claudio Eiuba (ANG), Diallo Mahamadou (MLI), Francisco Tando (ANG)

Final round

25 November 2023 Semifinal	Cape Town Tigers	67–63	COSPN	Ellis Park Arena, Johannesburg
19:00	Scoring by quarter: 14–13, 22–12, 18–19, 13–19
		Report		Referees: Wael Mostafa (EGY), Youssouf Maiga (MLI), Haytham Ihaqaf (LBY)

26 November 2023 Final	Cape Town Tigers	70–68	City Oilers	Ellis Park Arena, Johannesburg
14:00	Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 14–15, 24–15, 20–16
		Report		Referees: Diallo Mahamadou (MLI), Tonton Banza Kalume (DRC), Erick Otieno (KEN)

Basketball Africa League

Kalahari Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	PCT	Qualification
1	FUS Rabat	4	3	1	363	295	+68	.750	Advance to playoffs
2	Petro de Luanda	4	2	2	360	340	+20	.500
3	Cape Town Tigers (H)	4	1	3	305	346	−41	.250
4	Dynamo (D)	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	Withdrew

Source: BAL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(D) Disqualified; (H) Hosts

The result of the first game day against Dynamo from Burundi was rescinded, as the team was disqualified after the first gameday.

9 March 2024	Cape Town Tigers	73–86	Dynamo	SunBet Arena, Pretoria
3:00 PM (7:00 PM PST)	Scoring by quarter: 15–21, 14–23, 24–22, 20–20
	Pts: Cele 26 Rebs: Sibanyoni, Preston 7 Asts: Sibanyoni 5	Boxscore	Pts: Otobo 21 Rebs: Otobo 13 Asts: Hobbs 8	Attendance: 5,749 Referees: Kevin Fahy, Wael Ibrahim Mostafa, Monicca Nassuuna

10 March 2024	Petro de Luanda	100–88	Cape Town Tigers	SunBet Arena, Pretoria
3:00 PM (7:00 PM PST)	Scoring by quarter: 31–14, 16–28, 30–19, 23–27
	Pts: Buiamba, Morais 17 Rebs: Morais, Moreira 8 Asts: Dundão 5	Boxscore	Pts: Manyang 20 Rebs: Sibanyoni 9 Asts: Cele 4	Attendance: 3,576 Referees: Omar Bermudez, Haytham Ihaqaf, Mahamadou Diallo

12 March 2024	Cape Town Tigers	58–84	FUS Rabat	SunBet Arena, Pretoria
3:00 PM (7:00 PM PST)	Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 16–20, 10–27, 14–13
	Pts: Cele 22 Rebs: Sibanyoni 8 Asts: Diarra 3	Boxscore	Pts: Diarra 21 Rebs: Azouga, Najah 7 Asts: Jordan 7	Attendance: 1,050 Referees: Jason Alabanza, Erick Otieno, Dorothy Okatch

16 March 2024	Cape Town Tigers	84–78	Petro de Luanda	SunBet Arena, Pretoria
3:00 PM (7:00 PM PST)	Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 24–20, 17–19, 20–18
	Pts: Preston 20 Rebs: Preston 11 Asts: Diarra 9	Boxscore	Pts: Moreira 20 Rebs: Moreira 10 Asts: Morais 7	Attendance: 5,734 Referees: Jason Alabanza, Wael Ibrahim Mostafa, Dorothy Okatch

17 March 2024	FUS Rabat	84–78	Cape Town Tigers	SunBet Arena, Pretoria
3:00 PM (7:00 PM PST)	Scoring by quarter: 15–33, 22–21, 22–25, 25–16
	Pts: Jordan 19 Rebs: Diarra 11 Asts: Nouhi 5	Boxscore	Pts: Cele 24 Rebs: Preston, Sibanyoni 7 Asts: Preston 5	Attendance: 5,827 Referees: Gerda Gatling, Erick Otieno, Didier Gaga

Playoffs

Seeding game

24 May 2024	Al Ahly Ly	87–67	Cape Town Tigers	BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda
5:00 PM	Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 26–16, 25–17, 15–18
	Pts: Golden 21 Rebs: Lual-Acuil 8 Asts: Golden 9	Livestats	Pts: Deing 21 Rebs: Sibanyoni 12 Asts: Cele, Diarra 5	Attendance: 3,032 Referees: Pat O'Connell, Kingsley Ojeaburu, Annie Joyce Muchenu

Quarterfinals

26 May 2024	FUS Rabat	88–91(OT)	Cape Town Tigers	BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda
5:30 PM	Scoring by quarter: 17–15, 24–29, 18–19, 24–20, Overtime: 5–8
	Pts: Diarra 18 Rebs: Diarra 16 Asts: Jordan 7	Livestats	Pts: Cele 30 Rebs: Sibanyoni 25 Asts: Diarra 8	Attendance: 6,279 Referees: Pat O'Connell, Aboolo Amr, Monicca Nassuunav

Semifinals

29 May 2024	Petro de Luanda	96–86(OT)	Cape Town Tigers	BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda
8:00 PM	Scoring by quarter: 15–16, 28–21, 23–18, 11–22, Overtime: 19–9
	Pts: Faust 23 Rebs: Moreira 14 Asts: Dundão 7	Livestats	Pts: Cele 19 Rebs: Sibanyoni 13 Asts: Diarra 6	Attendance: 6,072 Referees: Pat O'Connell, Kalume Tonton Banza, Annie Joyce Muchenu

Third place

31 May 2024	Rivers Hoopers	80–57	Cape Town Tigers	BK Arena, Kigali, Rwanda
8:00 PM	Scoring by quarter: 25–8, 18–21, 20–9, 17–19
	Pts: Amayo 25 Rebs: Koko 11 Asts: Perry 8	Livestats	Pts: Deing 17 Rebs: Sibanyoni 15 Asts: Manyang, Whitbread 2	Attendance: 4,379 Referees: Julian Scott, Wael Ibrahim Mostafa, Kalume Tonton Banza

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

BAL

Cape Town Tigers statistics
Player	GP	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dylan Whitbread	8	14.9	.361	.304	1.000	1.6	0.8	0.3	0.0	4.4
Storm Gilchrist	3	13.6	.273	.000	.286	3.0	0.7	0.3	0.3	2.7
Nkosinathi Sibanyoni	8	30.8	.395	.111	.385	12.3	1.5	1.3	0.9	9.4
Lebesa Selepe	4	10.2	.143	.167	.000	1.3	1.0	0.3	0.0	0.8
Billy Preston	4	27.0	.460	.500	.769	6.3	3.0	1.0	0.3	15.8
Mouhamadou N'doye	4	26.5	.367	.000	.400	4.5	0.8	0.8	3.5	6.0
Somusa Mthembu	7	5.7	.333	.000	.000	2.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.6
Lebohang Mofokeng	6	6.9	.000	.000	.500	1.2	0.2	0.5	0.0	0.3
Ngor Manyang	8	26.5	.292	.259	.867	2.8	1.1	1.0	0.1	8.8
Yakhya Diop	5	3.7	.250	.000	.222	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.8
Cartier Diarra	7	35.0	.432	.290	.667	3.7	5.0	1.1	0.0	13.3
Dhieu Deing	4	33.0	.308	.265	.750	4.5	2.8	0.8	0.3	15.3
Samkelo Cele	7	33.8	.389	.268	.760	4.6	2.7	2.4	0.1	21.0
Brian Bridgeforth	4	15.8	.500	.000	.333	5.8	0.3	1.3	0.8	6.5

References

^ "Robert Golden's five three-pointers sink Cape Town in the opener of the 2024 BAL Playoffs". The BAL. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
^ "Cape Town Tigers stun top-seeded FUS Rabat in biggest achievement for South African basketball". The BAL. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
^ "Rivers Hoopers finish third at 2024 BAL". The BAL. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
^ 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.
^ @thecapetowntigers (26 September 2023). "BRINGING SOME EXTRA HEAT TO CAPE TOWN!" – via Instagram.
^ @thecapetowntigers (27 September 2023). "Welcome to Cape Town, Terrance Ferguson!" – via Instagram.
^ @thecapetowntigers (2 October 2023). "We would like to welcome @cartierdiarra2 to the family!" – via Instagram.
^ @thecapetowntigers (6 October 2023). "Welcome to the family @calebmagua" – via Instagram.
^ @thecapetowntigers (7 October 2023). "Welcome to the family @lamineseven" – via Instagram.
^ "Ganapamo ready to help elevate Bangui Sporting Club to the BAL". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
^ Lehohla, Manyehlisa (8 December 2023). "Prinsloo's competitive flame is lit and ready to heat up in Chile". The Big Tip Off. Retrieved 16 December 2023.

[:1-1] "Robert Golden's five three-pointers sink Cape Town in the opener of the 2024 BAL Playoffs". The BAL. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.

[:5-2] "Cape Town Tigers stun top-seeded FUS Rabat in biggest achievement for South African basketball". The BAL. Retrieved 28 May 2024.

[:7-3] "Rivers Hoopers finish third at 2024 BAL". The BAL. Retrieved 6 June 2024.

[4] 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.

[5] @thecapetowntigers (26 September 2023). "BRINGING SOME EXTRA HEAT TO CAPE TOWN!" – via Instagram.

[6] @thecapetowntigers (27 September 2023). "Welcome to Cape Town, Terrance Ferguson!" – via Instagram.

[7] @thecapetowntigers (2 October 2023). "We would like to welcome @cartierdiarra2 to the family!" – via Instagram.

[8] @thecapetowntigers (6 October 2023). "Welcome to the family @calebmagua" – via Instagram.

[9] @thecapetowntigers (7 October 2023). "Welcome to the family @lamineseven" – via Instagram.

[:2-10] "Ganapamo ready to help elevate Bangui Sporting Club to the BAL". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 17 September 2023.

[11] Lehohla, Manyehlisa (8 December 2023). "Prinsloo's competitive flame is lit and ready to heat up in Chile". The Big Tip Off. Retrieved 16 December 2023.

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