The 2023 BNL season was the 10th season of the Basketball National League (BNL), the top-flight basketball league in South Africa. The season began on 6 May 2023 and ended with the championship game on 30 July 2023. All fixtures were played in the Mandeville Indoor Hall in Johannesburg.[1]

2023 BNL season
LeagueBasketball National League
SportBasketball
HostsMandeville Indoor Hall, Johannesburg
Finals championsCape Town Tigers (1st title)
  Runners-upTshwane Suns
Seasons
← 2022

The league consisted of 12 teams, which were divided in two groups of six teams each. The Florsheim Ngwenya-led Cape Town Tigers made their BNL debut and won their first-ever league championship.[2] As national champions, the Tigers qualified for the 2024 BAL qualification.

Regular season

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Group A

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Pos Team Pld W L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TS KZM SP NCZ NWE ECW
1 Tshwane Suns 5 5 0 448 290 +158 10 Advance to semi-finals 96–43 104–71
2 KwaZulu Marlins 5 4 1 431 300 +131 9 72–77 74–62 105–59
3 Soweto Panthers 5 3 2 391 324 +67 8 59–73 83–63 88–46
4 Northern Cape Zebras 5 2 3 311 413 −102 7 45–98 57–104 60–58
5 North West Eagles 5 1 4 281 404 −123 6 45–76
6 Eastern Cape Windbreakers 5 0 5 352 483 −131 5 68–99 70–86 84–89
Source: BNL

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CTT MR WCM LP EM FSW
1 Cape Town Tigers 5 5 0 469 245 +224 10 Advance to semi-finals 106–46 97–51 76–47
2 Mpumalanga Rhinos 5 3 2 345 354 −9 8 65–83 48–56 87–79
3 Western Cape Mountaineers 5 3 2 340 311 +29 8 68–69 69–51
4 Limpopo Pride 5 2 3 291 323 −32 7 65–39 68–70
5 Egoli Magic 5 1 4 252 335 −83 6 68–76 42–70 56–48
6 Free State Warriors 5 1 4 276 405 −129 6 36–107
Source: BNL


Playoffs

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Semi-finals Final
      
A1 Tshwane Suns 64
B2 Mpumalanga Rhinos 60
A1 Tshwane Suns 60
B1 Cape Town Tigers 85
A2 KwaZulu Marlins 68
B1 Cape Town Tigers 89

Semi-finals

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July 23, 2023
12:00 pm
Tshwane Suns 64–60 Mpumalanga Rhinos
Scoring by quarter: 9–17, 20–9, 16–13, 19–21
Pts: Emmanuel Shine 24
Rebs: Marcus Mokwena 14
Asts: Briarley Klaassen, Holy Mandungu 3
Pts: Vusi Sibeko 13
Rebs: Ludwig Gerdes 9
Asts: Joshua Tawengwa 5
Mandeville Indoor Hall, Johannesburg
July 23, 2023
4:00 pm
Kwa-Zulu Marlins 68–89 Cape Town Tigers
Scoring by quarter: 15–22, 22–23, 15–22, 16–22
Pts: Bena Kabuya 18
Rebs: Sifiso Gininda, Storm Gilchrist 9
Asts: Storm Gilchrist 3
Pts: Sita Conteh 27
Rebs: Nkosinathi Sibanyoni, Pieter Prinsloo 10
Asts: Lebesa Selepe 4
Mandeville Indoor Hall, Johannesburg

Final

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July 30, 2023
1:00 pm
Tshwane Suns 60–85 Cape Town Tigers
Scoring by quarter: 15–20, 4–22, 17–26, 24–17
Pts: Gleen Akoulou 18
Rebs: Marcus Mokwena 10
Asts: Kagiso Ngoetjana, Briarley Klaassen 2
Pts: Akeem Springs 24
Rebs: Nkosinathi Sibanyoni 19
Asts: Sita Conteh 8
Mandeville Indoor Hall, Johannesburg

Statistical leaders

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Category Player Team(s) Statistic
Points per game Akeem Springs Cape Town Tigers 23.0
Emmanuel Shine Tshwane Suns
Rebounds per game Damien Kasongo Limpopo Pride 18.0
Assists per game Lebesa Selepe Cape Town Tigers 3.7

Winning roster

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2023 Cape Town Tigers roster

No Player
0 Dumisani Gebashe
3 Dylan Whitbread
10 Lebesa Selepe
11 Lebohang Mofokeng
14 Nkosinathi Sibanyoni
23 Akeem Springs
24 Sita Conteh
25 Pieter Prinsloo
34 Somusa Mthembu
41 Braydon Wooley
44 Gloire Kabange
45 Rabbi Belolo
HC Florsheim Ngwenya

References

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  1. ^ "BNL SA". hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Cape Town Tigers are 2023 BNL winners". Afrobasket.com. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.