Robert Golden’s five three-pointers sink Cape Town in the opener of the 2024 BAL Playoffs

Robert Golden couldn’t have had a better BAL debut as he propelled Al Ahly Ly to an 87-76 win over Cape Town Tigers in the opening game of the 2024 BAL Playoffs.

Golden was a last-minute addition to the Libyan champions, replacing Pierre Jackson, who had a stellar display during the Nile Conference last month.

Golden shot 8-for-10 from the floor, which included shooting 5-10 from behind the arc to finish with a team-high of 21 points.

But Golden wasn’t all about scoring. He created shooting opportunities for his teammates, finishing with a game-high of 8 assists.

“He gelled in well,” said Kevin Murphy who added 13 points.

“It was a great effort; everyone played hard. We wanted to win to set the tone. Coach kept telling us how important it was to start with a win,” Murphy added.

Dhieu Deing led Cape Town Tigers in scoring with 21 points; Samkelo Cele came up with 16 points and Cartier Diarra contributed 10 points, but Golden’s BAL debut was a soul-crusher for the Cape Town.

“For whatever reason we couldn’t get him on time, and he was on fire,” Cele admitted.

Although the Tigers recorded their fourth loss from five games this season, Flosh Ngwenya’s men displayed a tremendous effort.

The Tigers stepped on the floor ready to defy the odds, and for most of the game they were in control of their destiny until Al Ahly Ly used an 11-0 run to extend their lead to 80-58 with 4:19 minutes left ending the South African champions’ hope of fighting back.

It wasn’t just Al Ahly Ly’s 53-36 rebounding advantage that hurt Cape Town Tigers the most but stopping Al Ahly Ly’s 9-20 three-point shooting proved too much in a game where the first 15 points – from either side - came from behind the arc.

Golden later reflected on his BAL debut, saying, “It’s been only five to six days since I joined the team and I am still getting used to the team.”

“It was huge win for us. It just gives confidence. We have three more games, hopefully, we’ll win the championship.”

Cape Town return to action on Sunday to take on the winner of the game between Al Ahly SC and FUS Rabat while Al Ahly Ly will go up against the losing team of the same game.