Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa warns Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of crucial PSL showdown - 'The league is not gone, it’s far from being gone'

Mabasa said they still have faith in the PSL race despite Mamelodi Sundowns, their Sunday, March 16, 2025, rivals at the FNB Stadium, enjoying an 18-point gap lead at the top of the table.

The forward also revealed how coach Jose Riveiro keeps motivating them that they can win any trophy.

“The league is not gone; it’s far from being gone. I always hear this from people, including yourselves, but I don’t believe it’s gone; we don’t believe it’s gone as a group; we still have faith in it,” Mabasa, last season's Golden Boot winner, said as quoted by iDiski Times.

“We have to win our remaining games, and yeah – I know we’re capable of doing that. We showed it at the beginning of the season. So it will be a lot of pressure, yes, but we’re up for the challenge; we’re ready.”

“It’s the way we have managed to win trophies through [Riveiro’s] era at the club; you can check, and in other games as well, scoring late winners, I don’t know how many times; I have lost count, in league and cup games,” he explained on his earlier bold statement," he added.

“We have that belief; we have that faith [that we can win anything]; we have it until the last minute; we keep going. Coach is always the one to tell us, 'Keep on going, keep on going, never drop your heads because you never know what might happen.' It keeps the faith of this group and the unity and brotherhood as well; it helps a lot," Mabasa continued.

The game on Sunday carries high stakes, given that the race could be over for Pirates if they lose.

The Bucs have 40 points, although they have played four fewer games compared to Sundowns, who have played 22.

Sundowns hope to extend their winning run after they saw off AmaZulu 2-0 in the midweek clash. On the other hand, Pirates were held by ten-man Stellenbosch to a 0-0 draw.

On Sunday, Mabasa and his teammates will need to prove their competitiveness by slowing down Sundowns on what looks like an inevitable march to their eighth successive PSL title.