JHB Giants & Montana Vikings Crowned 2025 South Africa Basketball Champions after Dramatic Cape Town finals

JHB Giants & Montana Vikings Crowned 2025 South Africa Basketball Champions after Dramatic Cape Town finals

The South African national club championship took place in Cape Town from September 19 to 22. The champions in both categories would represent the country in continental competitions. Following the much-talked-about controversy surrounding the qualification process and a surprise timing, Basketball South Africa (BSA) announced the teams that have qualified, as well as those that applied and received approval.

According to the BSA constitution, any team that wishes to participate in the national championship must first be affiliated with its respective city and province, must compete in those leagues, and must have a men’s, women’s, and youth side. All of which most teams did not comply with. In fact, only two out of nine provinces fulfilled these obligations. Nevertheless, the stage at the University of Cape Town was set.

In the women’s division, MBB Ladies were the favorite to win. They had some challenging games but managed to outclass their opponents en route to the final. The final was scheduled to take place on 21 September, but a protest by officials over unpaid wages delayed the games. When that was sorted, the MBB Ladies were nowhere to be seen and not ready for the match.

When the 15-minute waiting period had lapsed, the Montana Vikings were crowned champions by forfeit. The maladministration from the national federation left many fans disappointed that they did not get to witness what would have been an exciting final. Montana Vikings will represent South Africa in the zonal competition in pursuit of a spot in the 2025 WBLA.

In the men’s division, it was even more dramatic. The BNL side, KZN Marlins, applied, but due to the ongoing legal battle between the BNL and BSA, the federation refused to let Marlins compete. The Marlins took BSA to court and were successful because Basketball South Africa had not adhered to its own constitution. The Marlins then proceeded to sign international players like Evans Ganapamo and George Williams Jr., and even poached players from local teams in the eleventh hour.

The JHB Giants also strengthened their team by bringing back Pieter Prinsloo and Nathi Sibanyoni, who were both playing in China, as well as South African D1 player Joshua Ozabor. They also acquired some talent from MBB, such as Nino Dim and Aviwe Mahlong. The other dark horses were Cape Town Sharks, who had home-ground advantage, and Duep Academy from KwaZulu-Natal. The defending champions and BAL participants, MBB, were not to be counted out.

There was a lot at stake, as these teams did not hold back in their acquisition of players, which was evident in the level of competition they put on display. The Giants were already dubbed favorites by most pundits, not only because of their squad but also their head coach, Flosh Ngwenya, who is the national team coach and took Cape Town Tigers to the BAL semi-final in 2024.

In the qualifying stage, they showed their dominance after defeating teams by as many as 80 points. In the other group, games went down to the wire, but the Marlins rose above the competition. MBB earned a spot in the semi-finals, where they took on the Giants. It was always an uphill struggle for MBB as they only managed to score 41 points to the Giants’ 71. Marlins also breezed past Duep Academy in the other semi-final.

The final was intensely fought, with very little to separate the two teams. There were very few lead changes, as the Giants maintained a small but significant lead. After some heroic shots by Ganapamo and Williams Jr, the Marlins were able to claw back and even tie the game in the fourth quarter.

Josh Ozabor, who carried the offensive mantle for the Giants and led all scorers, while Nathi Sibanyoni protected the rim and gave his team much confidence as the defensive anchor.

In the end, the Giants won by only three points (79-76) after two clutch free throws by Aviwe Mahlongto close the game at the end of regulation. Joshua Ozabor was crowned MVP, and the Giants will now take their talents beyond the borders of South Africa and represent the nation in continental competitions.

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[Photography Courtesy of Growing The Game & JHB Giants]