Résultats

South Africa BNL 07/16 08:00 - Eastern Cape Windbreakers v Northern Cape Zebras W 70-86
South Africa BNL 07/15 12:00 - Northern Cape Zebras v North West Eagles W 60-58
South Africa BNL 10/19 20:00 - Soweto Panthers v Northern Cape Zebras L 77-66
South Africa BNL 10/31 14:00 - Limpopo Pride v Northern Cape Zebras W 49-71
South Africa BNL 09/24 10:57 - Northern Cape Zebras v Mpumalanga Rhinos L 77-104

The Basketball National League (BNL) is the pre-eminent male professional basketball league in South Africa. The league was founded in 2013, however, before the Premier Basketball League had been running as the country's premier basketball league.

The league also has a female counterpart, the Women's Basketball National League, which was established in 2021.

Egoli Magic are the most successful club in league history, having won five championships. The current champions are the Cape Town Tigers, who won the 2023 season.

History

PBL era

Founded in 1994 as the Premier Basketball League (PBL), the league was founded by six franchises. In an agreement with the national federation Basketball South Africa, the league began with four new teams, namely Capetown Eagles, Soweto Panthers, Capetown Kings and Pretoria Suns.

The leaguge was sponsored by Allied Bank, and later by Telkom. The PBL was disbanded in 1996.

The PBL disappeared for the following years, but made a return after nine years in 2007. The final of that season was won by the Soweto Panthers.

BNL era

After a 14-year period without a national men's league, the Basketball National League (BNL) was founded in 2013. The Tshwane Suns won the inaugural BNL championship.

The BNL Season of 2018 started in August, the 3rd and ended on October, the 27th. For the first time ever, the championship was won by the Soweto Panthers.

In 2016 the league piloted a women's division in Gauteng, The Sturdy Stars won the title that year.

South Africa saw the official nationwide launch of the Women's Basketball National League (WBNL) in 2021, with the participating club expansion the W-Tshwane Suns won their first national championship on the 27 November 2021.

Because of the scarcity of available basketball arenas, all games between 2013 and 2015 were played at Wembley Stadium in Stafford, Gauteng, City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, a former ice-rink which holds up to 3,000 visitors.

The league expanded to 12 clubs in the 2023 season, when the Cape Town Tigers, joined the league. The Tigers had already played in two seasons of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the continent's most important tournament. The Tigers won the league in their debut season, after going unbeaten.

Les Northern Cape Zebras sont une équipe de basket-ball basée dans la province du Cap Nord en Afrique du Sud. L'équipe participe à la Division 1 de la Basketball National League (BNL), le plus haut niveau du basket-ball sud-africain. Les Zebras ont remporté trois titres de BNL, en 2016, 2017 et 2019. Ils sont également champions en titre de la Coupe d'Afrique des clubs champions.

Les Zebras sont connus pour leur style de jeu rapide et athlétique. Ils sont menés par le meneur de jeu vétéran Tevin Esterhuizen, qui est l'un des meilleurs joueurs d'Afrique du Sud. L'équipe dispose également d'un certain nombre de jeunes talents prometteurs, comme l'ailier fort Thapelo Khunou et l'arrière défensif Siphelele Mkhize.

Les Zebras jouent leurs matchs à domicile au Northern Cape Arena, une salle ultramoderne située à Kimberley. L'équipe a une base de fans passionnés qui les soutient à chaque match.

Les Zebras sont l'une des équipes les plus titrées du basket-ball sud-africain. Ils sont également l'une des équipes les plus populaires du pays, et leurs matchs à domicile attirent toujours de grandes foules. Les Zebras sont une fierté pour la province du Cap Nord et ils continueront sans aucun doute à connaître le succès pendant de nombreuses années.