NAIROBI (Kenya) - Nino Dim was the star of the show for the Johannesburg Giants as the South African champions saw off the star-studded Dar City team 71-69 to secure their place in the 2026 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season.
The 25-year-old shot 4-for-9 from range, two of those coming in the crucial final quarter as the Giants pulled away. He finished with a team-high 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, giving him a 22 efficiency rating.
Dhieu Deing was the Giants' second-highest scorer with 16 points, two more than Joshua Ozabor. The three players were the only ones to hit double digits in the clutch victory.
Ozabor completed a double-double with 10 rebounds, while Sibanyoni contributed a similar number. Meanwhile, Pieter Prinsloo led the boards with 14.
For the third match in a row, Dar City were outrebounded 51–43 (13–6 on offence), and while they did well to protect the rim, allowing only 5–4 on second chances, the difference in depth between the two sides stood out.
While the Giants celebrated a team victory, three of Dar City's starters played the full 40 minutes, with Solo Diabate on the floor for 38:44.
Youssou Ndoye came off the bench to play for 21 minutes and managed just two points. Hasheem Thabeet, a starter, played for just under 19 minutes and scored four points. The only other player on the floor was Amin Mkosa, who played for just over a minute.
It was therefore no surprise that Dar City's bench was outscored 22-2.
The match started evenly, with the teams trading blows to give Dar a 10-8 lead after four minutes.
However, the South Africans dipped defensively, allowing the Tanzanians to dominate for almost four minutes and take a 19-8 lead with just under two minutes remaining. They then regrouped to end the stanza 21-13.
Nisre Zouzoua and Deng Angok Yak Deng extended Dar's lead to 26-14, but the Giants remained relentless. Deing added five points at the end to make it 34-30; his team held steady to trail 39-34 at half-time.
After the interval, Nino Dim and Deing scored back-to-back from range to tie the match at 42 points.
Nkosinathi Sandile Sibanyoni's reverse layup gave the Giants the lead for the first time at 44–42. The two-point difference remained at 48–46 before Zouzoua stole the ball and dunked it to tie the match at 50 once more.
Dim returned the favour by stealing the ball from Youssou Ndoye and scoring a three-pointer to give his team a 54-50 lead.
However, the Ivorian international came to Dar's rescue by scoring a three-pointer to make it 54-53.
The match-up between Zouzoua and Dim continued into the fourth quarter, with Dim scoring five to put the Giants ahead 61-56, and then adding a crucial three moments later to make it 64-57.
Emmanuel Shine extended the lead to nine points from the free throw line, but two-time BAL winner Solo Diabaté was not going to let that happen, scoring seven in quick succession to reduce the deficit to two with three minutes remaining.
Yak Deng's pull-up from the right corner made it 70-69. The Giants missed out on a chance to win when Sibanyoni and Prinsloo missed their shots.
However, an off-the-ball foul on the former ended up deciding the match, with Sibanyoni converting to make it a two-point game. In the final play, Ndoye got the ball under the basket unmarked, but three Giants closed in on him, denying him the match-winning shot. FIBA