Former Nigeria champions Rivers Hoopers continued their history making journey in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) following a 92-88 win over Tunisian side US Monastir today.
The quarter final win makes Hoopers the first Nigerian team to reach the semi-finals of the Prestigious continental basketball tournament.
Point guard Will Perry scored 33 points — the most by any player in the game, made five rebounds and assisted five times – to help Rivers reach the BAL last four at the ongoing tournament in Kigali, Rwanda.
Speaking after the win, Perry said: “I am feeling good, I’m really happy for Nigeria. They deserve it.
On the possibilities of Rivers Hoopers reaching the final, he said, “We will try to rest and I pray we win again.”
Alongside the Semifinal record, the Kings Men had become the 1st Nigerian team to win a BAL game, more than 1 match and the 1st to qualify for the Playoffs.
The Ogo Odaudu tutored Hoopers will face Libyan side Al Ahly, who defeated reigning champions Al Ahly of Egypt 86-77 for a place in the final of this year’s tournament.
In another semifinal, South African side Cape Town Tigers will face the winner of the quarter-final game between Senegalese side AS Douanes and Angolan side Petro de Luanda.
Tag: Hoopers
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After a brilliant outing at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Sahara Conference in Dakar two weeks ago, Rivers Hoopers head coach Ogoh Odaudu has set new targets for the Playoffs.
The KingsMen had initially targeted the playoffs but went on to finish as Sahara Conference champions with a 4-2 win loss record.
Hoopers, who last played in Kigali at the inaugural edition of the BAL in 2021, could only manage one win out of three games.
Odaudu says they are happy to be back in Kigali and ready to compete for the title this time.
”It is a great feeling.” Said Odaudu.
”For the past two seasons, we have been watching the playoffs on television, but this season we are live in the arena. It is a reality, and we know that this is it.
”Everyone is excited; the team is hyped up and looking forward to the playoffs, and we are hoping we will continue from where we stopped.”
Hoopers became the first Nigerian team to win more than one BAL game and also the first to make the Playoffs.
Odaudu set his sights on attaining more records in Kigali.
”We have gotten a little bit greedy now. We played very well, so why do we need to stop here? A podium finish is actually what we are looking for right now,” he enthused.
The KingsMen will face AS Douanes in the seeding game on Saturday 25 May before playing Petro de Luanda or US Monastir in the quarterfinal.
”We won’t dream far ahead; we will take it one game at a time. First is AS Douanes in the seeding game, and we will use it as a test to see what we can do and what we cannot do. The target right now is the quarterfinal game; from that game, we will see what happens from there,” Ogoh concluded.Credit: Rivers Hoopers Media.
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Nigeria representatives Rivers Hoopers have commenced training today after landing in Kigali for the Basketball Africa League BAL 2023/24 Playoffs.
The Ogo Odaudu tutored side left Nigeria yesterday and will play Senegalese side AS Douanes on Saturday 25 May for a chance to qualify for the quarter finals of this year’s tourney.
The classification matchup is a repeat of Sahara Conference ties between both teams in Dakar, Senegal.
To qualify for the playoffs, Hoopers notched up 4 wins and 2 losses to top the Sahara Conference table of the championship.
The Playoffs and Finals will begin with a classification round where the top team will play against the next best team.
The next phase will be the Quarterfinals and losing teams will be eliminated from the tournament.
The BAL 2024 Playoffs and Finals will run from 24 May to 1 June at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
The top eight teams from the regular season to compete in the Playoffs and Finals are, Al Ahly Ly (Libya), Al Ahly SC (Egypt), AS Douanes (Senegal), Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), FUS Rabat (Morocco), Petro de Luanda (Angola), Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria) and US Monastir (Tunisia).
The eight sides have been ranked based on the points accumulated in the conference phase.
Here’s how teams rank ahead of the classification round:
No.1 – Al Ahly SC (5-1)
No.2 – FUS Rabat (3-1)
No.3 – Rivers Hoopers (4-2)
No.4 – AS Douanes (3-3)
No.5 – Petro de Luanda (2-2)
No.6 – US Monastir (3-3)
No.7 – Al Ahly Ly (3-3)
No.8 – Cape Town Tigers (1-3)
And here is a breakdown of the 12 games that will determine the winner of the season. -
Nigeria’s representatives at the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL), Rivers Hoopers, will face AS Douanes of Senegal in one of four seeding games in the playoffs in Kigali next week.
The two teams played against each other twice in the Sahara Conference held last week in Dakar with each winning one of the ties.
Unlike previous formats where teams advanced straight to the knockout stage (quarterfinals), teams have been paired based on their performance across all three conferences in this season’s playoffs.
The KingsMen, who won the Sahara Conference, are third in the overall standings behind Kalahari Conference champions FUS Rabat of Morocco in second and Nile Conference champions Al Ahly of Egypt, who top the overall standings.
AS Douanes finished (4), Petro de Luanda (5), US Monastir (6), Al Ahly Libya (7) and Cape Town Tigers (8).
The winner between Hoopers and AS Douanes (Game 40) will play against the winner between Petro de Luanda and US Monastir (Game 39), while the loser of the tie will square up against the loser of Game 39 in the quarterfinal.
Other quarter final seeding games will see Al Ahly take on FUS Rabat, and Al Ahly Libya play Cape Town Tigers.
The seeding games will take place on 24-25 May, before the single-elimination playoffs tip off on Sunday, 26 May at the BK Arena in Kigali.
Meanwhile, the KingsMen arrived in Lagos this week to continue preparation for the playoffs but will leave for Kigali later this weekend. -
After suffering a loss yesterday to snap their three game winning streak in the Basketball Africa League BAL, Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers are looking forward to making amends in the next game against APR of Rwanda tomorrow.
Rivers slumped 54-56 points to hosts AS Douanes of Senegal in the match, which leaves the Nigerian team’s coach Ogo Odaudu recounting the many mistakes his boys made as they prepare for their 5th tie in the championship.
“First of all we didn’t start very well, it was a major factor, that’s why we struggled the entire game,” Odaudu pointed out.
“We should pay attention to some little things like free throws.
“We lost the game by 2 points but our free throw shooting was like 16 of twenty something, we lost like how many?
” We turned over the ball twenty times.
” We gave up 19 offensive rebounds, we still lost by 2.
“So those are the things we should pay attention to and make sure they don’t happen in our next and we should be fine.”Latest Sahara Conference standings
After the APR game tomorrow, the Sahara Conference leaders Rivers will face Tunisian side US Monastir this Sunday in their last game of the reverse stage, with top two teams in the standings automatically qualifying for the 2024 BAL playoffs in Kigali. -
After first round of action, teams in the Sahara Conference of Basketball Africa League BAL will observe rest today in Senegal.
Buoyed by their three game winning streak, Nigerian representatives Rivers Hoopers are in the best of mindset ahead of commencement of second round tomorrow.
Hoopers who lead the standings with a hundred percent record, face hosts AS Douanes in a reverse fixture after beating the Senegalese team in one of the group’s openers on Saturday 4 May 2024.
Confirming their readiness for a potentially explosive second stage, Hoopers defeated 2022 BAL champions US Monastir 84-63 yesterday to keep the Tunisian team winless in the competition.
The Tunisian champions stepped on floor facing a must-win task, but things went from bad to worse as the game progressed.
Hoopers’ floor general Kelvin Amayo terrorised US Monastir’s defense with his scoring prowess from almost every corner of the hardwood to finish with a game-high of 27 points.
Amayo’s 10-for-23 shooting included a 6-for-17 from behind the arc.
Will Perry shot 4-for-7 from long-range to finish with 19 points, while Devine Eke and Peter Olisemeka contributed 16 and 13 points, respectively, to wrap things up for the Port Harcourt based club.
Eke said their third win in as many games was a collective effort.
“We came here to succeed, we didn’t come here to participate,” he noted.
When asked about key factors that saw Rivers sink Monastir, he said: “Boxing-out, rebounding and defending the pick-and-roll rightly. They are a good pick-and-roll team, that was our main goal defensively today.”
Next up for Hoopers are hosts Douanes with the game jumping off at 7:30pm tomorrow while an earlier matchup between Rwandan side APR and Monastir is scheduled for 4:30pm.All games are slated for the Dakar Arena in Senegal.
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Rivers Hoopers remain the only undefeated side in the Sahara Conference of Basketball Africa League BAL after sealing a second successive victory today in Dakar.
The former Nigeria champions eked out a tough 86-82 point victory over APR of Rwanda who stunned 2022 champions in their opening game yesterday.
Hoopers relied heavily on sharpshooter Wil Perry who poured in 31 points on the day, scoring the game’s last three points from the foul line to push the Rivers State based team ahead of the stubborn Rwandan side.
Complimenting Perry’s effort was Divine Eke with 19 points and 6 assists while Kevin Amayo kept the team ticking with a game high 7 assists.
Today’s win by Hoopers arrived on the heels of yesterday’s 77-68 point triumph over hosts AS Douanes of Senegal.
Next up for the Nigerian club, after observing a rest period tomorrow, are former continental champions US Monastir of Tunisia on Tuesday 7 May 2024. -
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Reigning champions of the Nigeria Premier Basketball League, Rivers Hoopers have been drawn to play in the Sahara Conference of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
In a statement released by the BAL today 14 February the KingsMen as Hoopers are known will face Armee Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball (APR) of Rwanda, US Monastir (Tunisia) and last season’s Finalist, AS Douanes of Senegal.
The Sahara Conference which will hold its games in Dakar, Senegal will be played between May 4-12.