CAPE TOWN (South Africa) - The Johannesburg Giants, who have been around for just a few months, made a huge impact on South African basketball when they won the National Club Championships on Monday, 22 September at the University of Cape Town.
Their 79–76 victory over the KwaZulu-Natal Marlins means that the Johannesburg-based club will represent South Africa at the upcoming Road to BAL tournament.
Led by the experienced coach Florsheim Ngwenya, the Giants finished the four-day tournament with a perfect 5-0 record, holding on in the dying seconds to secure their three-point victory.
Ngwenya heaped praise on the Giants team, made up of locally-based players, for withstanding the Marlins, who had signed the Central African Republic's Evans Ganapamo and American George Williams.
"We prepared for the tight moments in the game, especially in the last quarter. We knew they (Marlins) were a good team. They brought in some imports, while we have our local players. What counted in our favour is that we have been together for some time and we were building towards this," said Ngwenya.
"We knew we needed to defend and had to play. So, the last three minutes, we knew it would be a tight game. For us, as South Africa, looking at this Giants team, which has local players who came out and played hard it bodes well for the future of the game in this country," Ngwenya added.
Ngwenya's team also comprised local talents who have played on the big stages.
The BAL all-time leading rebounder, Nkosinathi Sibanyoni, and the evergreen Pieter Prinsloo, who both arrived from China, were a steadying presence during the final.
"We focused on locking in on defence... Not to lose composure. There are a lot of young guys in the team who have never been in that kind of situation. Things got tight, and in that situation guys made shots when they needed to," said Prinsloo.
Sibaynoni concurred with Prinloo about the team's defensive effort. "Playing good defence got us over the line. That's what the final was about: who can play hard defence. And we did that for 40 minutes," said Sibanyoni.
It's a gigantic leap for the Giants. They will enjoy their big feat, but in a few weeks, there will be bigger foes to slay on the Road to BAL.
FIBA