Ganapamo leads Cape Town in win over SLAC

Cape Town Tigers rallied from a 11-point deficit to beat S.L.A.C in their opening game of the 2023 Nile Conference.

Evans Ganapamo’s trademark turnaround shot tied the game at 47-all right at the end of the third quarter to spark what appeared an improbable comeback.

He then converted two free-throws to start the final quarter, and the Tigers never trailed again to win 75-68.

Ganapamo and Josh Hall finished with 15 points apiece; Samkelo Cele added 11 and Zaire Wade came off the bench to revive the South African champions’ offense with his game-high five assists.

Wade finished with more than half of Cape Town’s nine assists while contributing nine points.

S.L.A.C looked poised to secure their first BAL game since March 12, 2022, when they beat Ferroviario da Beira 90-74, but a sequence of poor decisions and foul troubles limited their chances in the game.

UC Iroegbu and Emeka Nwabuzor fouled later in the fourth quarter, Sedrick Barefield limped off the court with a knee injury midway through the third quarter, and things went from bad to worse for the Guinean champions.

But it was coach Zeljko Zecevic’s two technical fouls with 1:11 left on the clock – and SLAC trailing 68-64 at that point – that hurt his team the most.

Even Dane Miller’s game-high 20 points weren’t good enough to lead S.L.A.C to victory.

Nwabuzor and Ismael Conde finished with 11 points apiece; Iroegbu added 10 points and Barefield finished with eight points.

“The difference was intensity,” Ganapamo told the bal.nba.com.

He observed: “In the second half we really turned it up. We started the game a little slow, but we were able to do what we do best, and turned up the intensity and we came out with the win.”

It was Cape Town’s first BAL win since beating Cobra Sports 83-79 on April 15, 2022.

“We knew it was going to be a hard one. Last year we started with a loss. Definitely a very good start for us,” Ganapamo pointed out.

Iroegbu said of Ganapamo’s performance: “We knew he was one of their primary scorers. He did a good job, taking advantage of the fouls and the whistles in the way the referees called it. He had a good game and helped them come up on the top.”

The Nigerian international admitted that “we definitely get to figure out how to play and defend without fouling.

“Being the first game, we kind of see how the referees are going to call it. These are things that we can take advantage of next time. The free-throws and the fouls were definitely the biggest difference in the game.”

Barefied revealed that he sprained his left knee, but he will be ready for their next encounter against Ferroviario da Beira on Sunday, April 30.

“We have three days of rest until our next game. I am going to rehab, but I will be fine for our next game,” the American-Philippine said.

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