2023 Playoffs line-up complete after Cape Town's hard-fought win

The eight teams for the 2023 BAL Playoff are now known following the conclusion of the Nile Conference held in Cairo, Egypt.

Cape Town Tigers secured the last spot for the Playoffs (May 20-27) after beating City Oilers 80-70 on Saturday.

The South African champions advanced to the Playoffs for the second time in a row.

Other Nile Conference teams heading to the next round include champions Petro de Luanda (5-0), Al Ahly (4-1) and Ferroviario da Beira (2-3).

Cape Town Tigers entered the first game of the day with a short-handed squad.

Zaire Wade, Evans Ganapamo and and Joshua Hall, all sat out the critical game due to the health issues, but their back squad rose to the occasion.

Samkelo Cele, Pieter Prinsloo and Michael Gnibjie took leading roles in preventing City Oilers from advancing to the Playoffs.

Oilers lethal scorer James Justice Jr. was limited to just 9 points in 40 minutes on the floor, while Falando Jones, the only Oilers player to score in double digits, finished with 27 points.

Cheered on by 2023 Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame inductee Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union and a number of the team’s investors, the Tigers surpassed what appeared to be mission impossible.

Cele was the face of Cape Town’s courageous performance, finishing with a game-high of 28 points.

“He’s a very gifted scorer; Today we needed him to step up and he understood that, and the overall defense of the team was incredible,” Prinsloo said.

A City Oilers win would have seen through to the next round, but, the Tigers were on a mission.

“We keep showing that we do belong,” Prinsloo noted.

He went on saying: “We managed to get through and it feels great."

In the second game of the day, Al Ahly beat SLAC 80-70.