Cape Town Tigers and Ferroviario De Beira to battle again

The game between the Cape Town Tigers and Ferroviario de Beira in October, was a great showcase of what high-level club basketball in Africa has to offer. Basketball fans should be in for another treat this evening, as the Tigers and Beira square off to see who makes it to the Basketball Africa League (BAL) East Division finals and gains automatic qualification for the second edition of the BAL, which will take place from March-May 2022 in Dakar (Senegal), Cairo (Egypt) and Kigali (Rwanda).

The Cape Town Tigers bounced back from their underwhelming 83-71 loss to New Star from Burundi, during their BAL East Division final qualifying round, opening group fixture. During that match, the Tigers were largely unable to deal with the quartet of Kenny Gassana, Alvaro Masa, Guibert Nijimbere and Landry Ndikumana. However, the Tigers bounced back from their initial misstep and emerged victorious 79-63 against Zambian representatives Matero Magic. The game against the Magic was a must win match for both sides, with the winner booking their place in the East Division semifinals and standing a chance to grab one of the three BAL spots up for grabs, while the loser would be sent packing home and dreaming of what could have been.

The Tigers started the game against the Magic well and maintained the momentum throughout, leading by 27 points at one stage of the contest. While the Magic made a spirited comeback during the fourth quarter, their efforts were not enough and for the second in under two months, the Zambian side would fall to the Tigers. The Tigers qualification was spearheaded by the trio of Evans Ganapamo, Pieter Prinsloo and Billy Preston Jr. Ganapamo, had a poor match against New Stars shooting 4/16 from the field and ending with 9 points. Nevertheless, Ganapamo was able to regain his habitual shooting form, which he displayed during the preliminary round of BAL qualifiers and for the Central African Republic (CAR) national side at the first window of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers, by ending the Magic game with 19 points, on 6/10 shooting, including 4/6 from three. Prinsloo, who also had a lackluster 9 point, 9 rebound performance during the New Stars fixture, redeemed himself by scoring 18 points and 10 rebounds in the knockout group game. Preston Jr, the former Cleveland Cavaliers player, who led the Tigers during the first game with 20 points and 12 rebounds, replicated this effort, going 7/13 for 21 points including 3/6 from three, while adding 8 rebounds to his tally. The addition to the squad of Myc Kabongo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) international who featured for Ferroviario de Maputo, during last year’s inaugural edition of the BAL, was a positive development for the Tigers, as he performed well in his duties as floor general, an aspect which was missing during his absence in the match against New Stars.

For their semifinal matchup, the Tigers have a very big task in front of them, as Beira cruised to easy victories over Cobras of South Sudan and Ulinzi Warriors from Kenya to finish top of their group  While the Cape Town side had Beira’s number in October, when they won 86-85 during the their preliminary round encounter in October, they will have to dig deep in order to assure another victory over the spirited Mozambican side. Former South African international, BAL play-by-play commentator and Full Court analyst Quitin Dennyssen, believes the Tigers will have to significantly reduce their turnovers to stand a chance against Beira. During yesterday’s game, the Tigers had 28 turnovers, many of them unforced, including; 6 from Preston Jr, 5 from Kabongo and 4 from Prinsloo. Beira is a more organized squad than the Magic and possesses better individual players. If Beira are able to produce similar results, the Tigers will likely be punished and find it extremely difficult to obtain a victory.

Despite the great individual talents on the Beira roster including William Perry, Jemel Kennedy, Helton Ubisse and Ismael Nurmamade, the Tigers have a starting five with three guys standing at 6’10 (Chris Gabriel, Preston Jr and Prinsloo), who can stretch the floor, attack the basket and play inside. If these players, especially Gabriel and Preston Jr, can make use of these skill sets, they can potentially put Beira’s main centre, Ubisse into foul trouble, which will be advantageous for the Tigers. The Tigers made 13 three pointers against the Magic, hitting 45% of their attempts. In African basketball, teams which can shoot, always have a marked advantage and if the Tigers repeat this output against Beira, it will be an uphill struggle for the Mozambican side to overcome.

Bench output will be key. Beira’s bench saw significant playing time during the group fixtures which allowed feature players such as Kennedy and Perry to rest for long stretches of the match. The Tigers bench players need to be more impactful and Somusa Mthembu as well as Lehlogonolo Tholo will be key in this regard. Mthembu had an impressive 8 rebound and 3 assist effort, during the game against the Magic and will provide good fill-in minutes for the Tigers front court players in what is billed to be a physically intense game. Tholo has also brought his trademark energy grabbing, 8 and 6 rebounds in the two group fixtures as well as playing good on the ball defense, although there is room from improvement from him on this end. Jared Harrington and Ben Myburgh will be looked to, in order to provide the bulk of bench scoring. The Tigers could also have a joker in Lebogang Mofokeng, another impact player who played extremely well in limited action against Beira during the October match up.