Cape Town Tigers pull off major upset over FUS Rabat to reach BAL semis

Tigers, the tournament’s eighth seed, will now play their first-ever semi-final and await the winner of Monday’s quarter-final between AS Douanes of Senegal and Angola’s Petro de Luanda. 

Tigers coach Mlungisi “Florsheim” Ngwenya was on cloud nine after the Cape outfit’s historic victory.

"First and foremost, I just want to congratulate FUS Rabat – they're a great team, they gave us a heck of a game, they really played a good game," said Ngwenya.

"But I think today was just our day – it's God's plan if you really have to put it that way. But over and above that, I think our game plan was pretty simple, it was for us not to let their three-point shooters get away early in the game, which we did.

"But in the fourth quarter, especially in the last minute or so, we let Yacine [Baeri] break free twice – he's a heck of a shooter, and that almost cost us the game. Luckily for us, [Samkelo Cele] came out and closed it.

"Besides that final minute, over time we knew that, even though we lost [Dhieu] Deing – one of our scorers, but also great defenders, we have a quiet confidence among ourselves that we prepped very well for FUS."

Cele’s special three-pointer at the death sent the game to overtime, before Tigers went on to clinch the all-important win, and having top-scored with 30 points, the MVP just loves carrying his team.

"I love playing basketball, and I love moments like these, and so whatever my team trusts me to do game-in and game-out – they always say pressure is a privilege, so I don't feel burdened at all," said Cele.

"If anything, I love and embrace it, and it's just a compliment to the trust that my teammate have in me, and I just always try to meet their standards and make sure I try to deliver every game."

READ: Cape Town Tigers issue apology after BAL defeat to FUS Rabat