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Cape Town Tigers

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Cape Town Tigers
2021–22 Cape Town Tigers season
Cape Town Tigers logo
LeagueBasketball Africa League
South African National Championship
Founded2019
HistoryCape Town Tigers
2019–present
LocationGugulethu, Cape Town, South Africa
Team colorsBlack, White, Gold
     
PresidentRaphael Edwards
Head coachRasheed Hazzard
Team captainPieter Prinsloo
OwnershipSeverus LLC
Championships2 (2021, 2022)
Websitewww.capetowntigers.com

Cape Town Tigers is a South African basketball club based in Cape Town. The team is located in the Gugulethu township.[1] Established in 2019 by three American business partners, the club has won the South African national championship in 2021 and 2022.

The Tigers currently play internationally in the Basketball Africa League (BAL), besides competing domestically in the South African National Basketball Championship.

History

The team was founded in 2019 by the organisation Severus LLC, founded by American business partners Chante Butler, Raphael Edwards. Dia Martin, and William McFarlan.[2][3] The Severus company was established in order to develop a professional basketball team that could play in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) within 5 years.[4]

Its first roster featured two former NBA players in Billy Preston and Ben Uzoh. 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 as 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]

In January 2023, Nigerian singer Mr Eazi purchased shares of the organisation.[9]

Honours

South African National Championship
  • Champions (2): 2021, 2022
Basketball Africa League
  • Quarterfinalist (1): 2022

Players

Current roster

As of 27 February 2023.

Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

No. Pos. Nat. Player
0 SG South Africa RSA Ben Myburgh
1 F Central African Republic CTA Evans Ganapamo
2 G United States USA Zaire Wade
3 PG South Sudan SSD Dhieu Deing
45 SG South Africa RSA Matthew Williams
5 G South Africa RSA Nkosinathi Festile
9 SG South Africa RSA Skumbuzo Mthembu
10 G South Africa RSA Lebesa Selepe
11 G South Africa RSA Lebohang Mofokeng
14 PF South Africa RSA Nkosinathi Sibanyoni
23 G/F South Africa RSA Igor Lunnemann
25 C South Africa RSA Pieter Prinsloo (captain)
34 C South Africa RSA Liam Reid
SF United States USA Josh Hall

Head coach: United States Rasheed Hazzard

Notable players

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

Thus far, the Tigers have had three head coaches:

  • United States Raphael Edwards: (2021)
  • South Africa Relton Booysen: (2021–2022)
  • South Africa Florsheim Ngwenya: (2022)[10]
  • United States Rasheed Hazzard: (2023–present)

References

  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: The Mother City's basketball team aims to dominate". Ανθρώπινα Νέα | West Africa News. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  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 2022-08-23.
  8. ^ "Tigers earn a hard-fought victory over Oilers to qualify for the BAL 2023". FIBA.basketball. 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  9. ^ Mumuni, Lukman (2023-01-24). "Mr Eazi takes inspiration from Jay Z as he buys shares in basketball team". SportsBrief - Sport news. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  10. ^ Lehohla, Manyehlisa (2022-10-07). "Florsheim Ngwenya the right fit for the Tigers' BAL ambition". The Big Tip Off. Retrieved 2022-10-25.