Cape Town Tigers qualify for Basketball African League Round of 16

Cape Town Tigers qualify for Basketball African League

JOHANNESBURG, October 25 (ANA) – The Cape Town Tigers made history as they qualified for the Basketball Africa League (Bal) Round of 16, in Johannesburg, over the weekend.

Tigers won Group F of their qualifying group, with three wins from three.

The South African champions overcame Roche-Bois Warriors of Mauritius, Zambia’s Matero Magic before beating Ferroviario da Beira in a highly-contested match on Saturday.

Ferroviario da Beira almost shocked the home team, but the Cape Town-based team made sure to protect their home-court.

American-owned Tigers went a step further than compatriots Jozi Nuggets did in 2019 by qualifying for the Elite 16 Round of the BAL.

Although happy his team qualified for the next round, Tigers coach Relton Booysen was not pleased with his players on court discipline during the qualifiers.

“I am very proud of the guys. The Beira team has played together for years and have built their chemistry. We are a newly-formed club, so we have been together for a short time,” said Booysen after the final game against Ferroviario da Beira.

“Again, discipline almost cost us the game. That is something we have to fine-tune if we want to be successful in the next window.

“You could also see we struggled with our fitness. Playing three high-tempo games in succession took a lot out of the players. Hopefully, in the future, the tournament organisers can revisit how they structure the games. The players need a break.”

The Tigers will be joined in the next round by neighbouring from Mozambique, Ferroviario da Beira, who finished second in their group.

The BAL Elite 16 Round is expected to be played in November and December. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman