# 2023 BNL season

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.
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. As national champions, the Tigers qualified for the 2024 BAL qualification.

## Regular season
### Group A

| 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 | Advance to semi-finals | 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 | — |

### Group B

| 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 | Advance to semi-finals | 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 | | | | | — |

## Playoffs

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

### Semi-finals

* July 23, 2023 12:00 pm
* Boxscore
| 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
* Boxscore
| 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

* July 30, 2023 1:00 pm
* Boxscore
| 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

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

## Winning roster

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 |