Tigers do it for fans as they end winless streak
● The Cape Town Tigers, ended their winless streak amid a raucous atmosphere in this sold-out arena yesterday and in the process kept alive their hopes of heading to the finals of the Basketball Africa League.
In beating Petro du Luanda 84-78, the Tigers also showed that basketball’s growth at school level in South Africa is matched by the enthusiasm people have for the professional game, especially when it has the kind of colour and energy that comes with the NBA’s backing.
Billy Preston, one of the Tigers’ US imports, produced a heroic display in the fourth quarter, masterfully managing the danger he faced carrying four fouls — a fifth would have seen him removed from the game — to put up 20 points, while he also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Along with his compatriot Cartier Diarra’s energy and excellent court-craft and Samkelo Cele’s timely scoring, Preston was the difference on the floor for the Tigers.
Overall, however, it was the effort from the entire team, encapsulated by guard Storm Gilchrist who vomited into a bin courtside in the second quarter and coach Flosh Ngwenya exhorting his team throughout, that was such a major difference from their performances earlier in the week.
“I think the guys showed heart today, especially on defence. They didn’t give up, we really hustled. That’s the bottom line,” said Ngwenya. “Everyone has talent, in that regard we are all on an equal footing, but the difference is who has heart on the day, they will win the game.”
Ngwenya apologised to spectators who had watched his team get hammered by Rabat last Tuesday, and also bemoaned his team’s preparation time for some of the flat performances.
Yesterday, they played like a desperate team. “This (win) was for our fans, the people who came out wearing the jerseys, buying the tickets, shouting for us. This was for them,” said Ngwenya, who didn’t want to elaborate further on the team’s preparations, saying he’d take it up with management next week.
The Tigers deserved their 47-41 half-time lead, but like in their opening Kalahari Conference clash against Dynamo last Saturday, they again emerged flat from the break, and missed a series of easy shots in the third quarter.
That period of play was downright ugly from both teams, with offensive sets going awry in amateurish fashion at times. The Tigers relied on timely three-pointers from Cele, Dylan Whitehead and Santino Manyang, to keep Luanda at bay.
With the scores tied midway through the fourth quarter, following a pair of threes from Luanda, Preston took control; a threepointer was followed by a vital defensive rebound, which he turned into two free throws at the other end, while he also fed Cele an assist, which the Durban-born guard turned into a three-pointer.
Watching courtside was Springbok World Cup winner Tendai Mtawarira, who would have appreciated the beastly efforts from the Tigers.
They need to summon similar energy again this evening when they play Rabat in the final conference match, where a win would secure a finals spot.