Cape Town – Like an alley-oop, a Gugulethu-based basketball ball club, dunked their way to the top.
The Cape Town Tigers Basketball Club, which kept the South African flag flying high, won all three of their Basketball African League (BAL) Zone 6 play-off matches, to be crowned regional champions, in Joburg at the weekend.
They have now qualified for the Elite 16, where the top three teams in each group will compete in the BAL 2022.
They earned a spot in the BAL Zone 6 play-offs after being crowned the national champions last month.
Assistant coach for the Tigers, Vincent Ntunja, said he was overwhelmed with emotions.
“The adjustment to become a professional coach was an easy one, thus feeling proud to have been part of the team's success in a short space of time. A month ago we were crowned national champions, and this past weekend we were crowned regional champions.
“It keeps getting better and we intend to keep working hard to reach our goal which is to participate in the BAL 2022.”
Our expectation in the Elite 16 is to continuously dominate and be the number 1 team in Africa. Therefore, we'll approach it with the same mentality as the BAL Zone 6 play-offs,” he added.
Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa, said: “ The Cape Town Tigers Basketball Ball Club have done the country extremely proud, especially after recently dominating South Africa’s National Championships Summit . Now we are well on our way to taking over the continent and I certainly have no doubt that very soon, we will take over the world.”
Weekend Argus