When the Basketball Africa League started a week ago, Cape Town Tigers head coach Flosh Ngwenya had ambitions of going all the way and winning the continental showpiece, but those dreams now hang by the tiniest of threads.
With home-ground advantage, playing on a court they are familiar with and rallied by their families and thousands of home supporters, it was expected that the Tigers would progress to the next round with ease.
Instead, the Cape Town side finished with one win and three losses and now their destiny lies with how the Nile and Sahara group phase conferences conclude in April and May, respectively.
FUS Rabat and Petro de Luanda automatically qualified for the playoffs, with the Tigers taking the wooden spoon in the Kalahari conference, meaning they will await their fate as they eye one of the two wild card spots for the best third-placed teams.
Pundits may look at the results column and shake their heads, but the Tigers showed in their last two games, in which they beat Petro on Saturday and narrowly lost to FUS Rabat on Sunday, that had they been better prepared heading into the tournament, they would have been a force to be reckoned with.
The Tigers only had two weeks of preparation before the BAL and also failed to secure Deshawndre Washington and Daniel Pieter Prinsloo, who have been instrumental in the team of past seasons.
When asked about the team’s failure in those aspects, Ngwenya kept referring the media to the management, saying they had the answers.
While they await their fate as to whether they will book their tickets to the playoffs and seeding games in Kigali, Rwanda, in May, Ngwenya said the Tigers had some introspection to do.
“It is a good time for us to reflect from the top to bottom of our organisation on certain things and to be honest with each other as a club, and say where we went wrong from the top to the bottom.
“While that will be going on, we will have to be in the gym working.
“I have to sit in front of my computer and write a report on what happened in the tournament because there is a lot to address,” he said.
Tigers talisman Samkelo Cele shared Ngwenya’s sentiments, saying they needed to focus on their preparation despite the uncertainty regarding the playoffs.
“We started prep on February 26 for this [BAL].
“Should we make it to the playoffs, we have got to prepare a lot sooner, so we can build team cohesion.
“We have good shooters and great defenders, good rebounders, the more time we spend [preparing] we will definitely produce a better product,” Cele said.
The Nile Conference teams are defending champions Al Ahly (Egypt), Al Ahly Ly (Libya), Bangui Sporting Club (Central African Republic) and City Oilers (Uganda), while the Sahara Conference includes US Monastir (Tunisia), Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria), AS Douanes (Senegal) and APR (Rwanda).
DispatchLIVE
Tigers need to reflect on dismal BAL campaign — Ngwenya
Preparing sooner for playoffs — if destiny allows it — vital
Image: BACKPAGEPIX/NOKWANDA ZONDI
When the Basketball Africa League started a week ago, Cape Town Tigers head coach Flosh Ngwenya had ambitions of going all the way and winning the continental showpiece, but those dreams now hang by the tiniest of threads.
With home-ground advantage, playing on a court they are familiar with and rallied by their families and thousands of home supporters, it was expected that the Tigers would progress to the next round with ease.
Instead, the Cape Town side finished with one win and three losses and now their destiny lies with how the Nile and Sahara group phase conferences conclude in April and May, respectively.
FUS Rabat and Petro de Luanda automatically qualified for the playoffs, with the Tigers taking the wooden spoon in the Kalahari conference, meaning they will await their fate as they eye one of the two wild card spots for the best third-placed teams.
Pundits may look at the results column and shake their heads, but the Tigers showed in their last two games, in which they beat Petro on Saturday and narrowly lost to FUS Rabat on Sunday, that had they been better prepared heading into the tournament, they would have been a force to be reckoned with.
The Tigers only had two weeks of preparation before the BAL and also failed to secure Deshawndre Washington and Daniel Pieter Prinsloo, who have been instrumental in the team of past seasons.
When asked about the team’s failure in those aspects, Ngwenya kept referring the media to the management, saying they had the answers.
While they await their fate as to whether they will book their tickets to the playoffs and seeding games in Kigali, Rwanda, in May, Ngwenya said the Tigers had some introspection to do.
“It is a good time for us to reflect from the top to bottom of our organisation on certain things and to be honest with each other as a club, and say where we went wrong from the top to the bottom.
“While that will be going on, we will have to be in the gym working.
“I have to sit in front of my computer and write a report on what happened in the tournament because there is a lot to address,” he said.
Tigers talisman Samkelo Cele shared Ngwenya’s sentiments, saying they needed to focus on their preparation despite the uncertainty regarding the playoffs.
“We started prep on February 26 for this [BAL].
“Should we make it to the playoffs, we have got to prepare a lot sooner, so we can build team cohesion.
“We have good shooters and great defenders, good rebounders, the more time we spend [preparing] we will definitely produce a better product,” Cele said.
The Nile Conference teams are defending champions Al Ahly (Egypt), Al Ahly Ly (Libya), Bangui Sporting Club (Central African Republic) and City Oilers (Uganda), while the Sahara Conference includes US Monastir (Tunisia), Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria), AS Douanes (Senegal) and APR (Rwanda).
DispatchLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
Sport
Sport
Sport
Sport
Rugby