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Tag: Rivers Hoopers

  • NBPL: Rivers Hoopers begin second phase with gritty win over Hoops & Read

    NBPL: Rivers Hoopers begin second phase with gritty win over Hoops & Read

    Reigning champions Rivers Hoopers began Phase Two of the 2025 Nigeria Basketball Premier League (NBPL) with a 67-58 win over Hoops & Read on Sunday.

    The game, which was played at the Indoor Basketball Court, on 59 Niger Street, Port Harcourt Township, began with a burst of energy as both teams went at each other inside the first few minutes.

    But the experience of Captain Victor Koko and the industry of Victor Sunday combined for Hoopers’ first thirteen points as the KingsMen closed the first quarter 17-11.

    The beaten 2024 NBPL finalists came back firing, and after back-and-forth exchanges in the opening minutes of the second quarter, went on a 9-2 run to cut what was a 9-point deficit to 2 points at 27-25. However, the KingsMen, inspired by a dominant Buchi Nwaiwu who bagged six points in the paint, raced into halftime with the scores at 36-28.

    The visitors stunned the home crowd three minutes into the third, as they enjoyed an 11-3 scoring run to tie the game at 39-39, which prompted Coach Ogoh Odaudu to call timeout.

    “I just called them to remind them of the things we did in practice and what they were supposed to do. Basketball is a game of runs. They made a run and they tied the game; we strategized and came back with our own run to pull away, said Odaudu.

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    The 2024 Basketball Africa League Coach of the season then rang changes from the bench, re-introducing Mustapha Oyebanji and Michael Okiki who scored six of his team-leading thirteen points, as the KingsMen powered to a 13-0 run before closing out the third 54-44.

    The hosts executed a measured fourth quarter to wrap up a 9-point victory at 67-58 which Coach Odaudu said leaves room for improvement.

    “It was scrappy. We didn’t play the way we were supposed to play, [but] I think we’re going to get better as we go on. We’re happy with the win whether we played well or not, but we have to play better,” he said.

    When asked about what specific areas his team needs to make improvements, Odaudu said, “Basketball is not about how many points you score; it’s about how many times you stop your opponent from scoring. We have to really work on our defense and make sure that we get a lot more stops than we did today. Offense will find a way to take care of itself, but we need to find a way to stop our opponents from scoring.”

    Lagos Legends beat Comets 70-46 in the day’s opening fixture.

    The second day of Atlantic Conference action at the ongoing 2024 NBPL Phase Two will see Rivers Hoopers observe a day of rest, while Kwara Falcons battle Lagos Legends and Hoops & Read take on Comets (5pm).

  • Rivers Hoopers’ Odaudu targets NBPL playoffs berth

    Rivers Hoopers’ Odaudu targets NBPL playoffs berth

    Days to the commencement of the second phase of the 2025 Nigeria Basketball Premier League (NBPL) season, Rivers Hoopers Head Coach Ogoh Odaudu has set his sights on reaching the playoffs.

    Phase one (Group Phase) of the 2025 NBPL season (which is structured to run in four phases: Group, Inter-Group, Playoff, and Final Four) drew to a close on 3 September, with Phase two (Inter-Group Phase) set to begin on 24 September.

    During the group phase of the 2025 NBPL season, Rivers Hoopers were limited to a less than ideal two games as Delta Force and Oluyole Warriors elected against participating in the league, leaving the KingsMen and Kwara Falcons as the only teams in the Atlantic Conference Group B. However, after a three-week break, during which period the KingsMen have engaged in intense training and friendlies, Odaudu believes his team is adequately prepared for Phase Two.

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    “The first phase has come and gone. Unfortunately we didn’t get to play the number of matches that we wanted to play. But during the break we’ve been really busy. We’ve played a couple of friendly matches, and we’re still going to play another [friendly] on Wednesday. So, I think with all put in place, we should be ready for the second phase.”

    The second phase will see Rivers Hoopers play against more opponents, such as Comets, Lagos Legends, as well as Hoops & Reeds, who all took part in Group A of the Atlantic Conference, link up with the KingsMen and Kwara Falcons (Group B) at the Indoor Basketball Court, 59 Niger Street, Port Harcourt Township, for the Inter-Group games.

    More teams means more games, and ultimately more players to execute, with Odaudu suggesting the KingsMen will look to make a few additions for a more balanced roster before Phase Two begins.

    He said: “We had only eleven people who played the first two games. We’re expecting four more people to join us by the second phase, and of course, they should be on ground before jump-ball.”

    After winning back-to-back league titles and also finishing third at the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL), the KingsMen have been touted as strong favourites for the 2025 NBPL title. But Odaudu remains modest in his expectations, as he revealed his team’s immediate target remains a place in the playoffs (last eight).

    “This is all qualification for us. We just want to make it to the Final Eight for now and then see how we continue from there. The expectation for phase two is to make sure we’re one of the top four teams who will make it to the next round, that is, the final eight, sometime next month,” he pointed out.

    The Inter-Group Phase is scheduled for 24 September – 5 October and will once again see Port Harcourt play host, as all teams in the Atlantic Conference converge at the Indoor Basketball Court, 59 Niger Street, Port Harcourt Township.

    Meanwhile, teams from the Savannah Conference are expected to meet at the National Indoor Sports Hall, Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State, with venues for the Playoffs and Final Four yet to be named.

  • NBPL : Rivers Hoopers complete double over Kwara Falcons in nervy win

    NBPL : Rivers Hoopers complete double over Kwara Falcons in nervy win

    Rivers Hoopers survived a late scare by a resilient Kwara Falcons side to record a second straight victory over the 2022 champions, as the KingsMen won 88-86 to end Group Phase play in the ongoing 2025 Nigeria Basketball Premier League (NBPL).

    The KingsMen slowly seized control of what started off as a keen contest when they entered the fourth quarter with a healthy nine-point cushion. But what happened afterwards left fans at the edge of their seats.

    Rivers Hoopers had opened up a wide fifteen-point gap during the fourth quarter but lost hold of the game when Kwara Falcons enjoyed a scoring spree during a 10-4 run, nailing a three-pointer from deep to tie the game at 84-84 inside the final two minutes of action.

    However, big plays from vice-captain Nwaiwu Buchi Vincent, Victor Sunday, and John Idoga deep into the fourth ensured the KingsMen closed out Group Phase play with a perfect record.

    Rivers Hoopers Head Coach Ogoh Odaudu put the nervy fourth-quarter showing by his side down to complacency.

    “I think we were a little bit laid back, as you can see from the way we played. Just because of the fact that we beat them by 22 points 2 days ago, they thought it was going to be the same thing today. But of course they got a rude awakening, and I’m happy that we were able to withstand the pressure and eventually go away with the win,” he pointed out.

    Sunday scored eight of his game-leading 25 points during the frantic fourth quarter and was one of five KingsMen to hit double figures. Idoga scored 16, Sani Samuel put up 10, Nwaiwu dropped 11 with two big scores during the fourth, and Favour Komene hit a career-high 20 points, including a game-high six, 3-pointers, which not only thrilled the crowd but also impressed Odaudu.

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    “I’m really impressed by what I’m seeing. A lot of the youngsters are actually stepping up, and I think they’re learning a lot from the veterans. You can see Favour, who had never played in any league before; he is playing like a veteran already. Imagine what a few more weeks of practice will do to him. I’m sure he’ll be in top form by the time we come back for the next phase.”

    With the league entering a brief period of rest before the Inter-Group Phase, the 2024 Basketball Africa League Coach of the Year says he looks forward to improved performances from his side as they hope to overcome some of the challenges which beset the team during the Group Phase.

    “I think fatigue was a major factor; that’s one. Two; I don’t think we had enough time to prepare. And three, it’s a brand new team. You can see the number of different faces on the team, and we’re still trying to get our acts together and to gel. Of course we’re going to do that with the time that we have right now. We’re going to play a lot more games and run up and down the court, and we should be able to address that [our challenges] in the next phase.” he stated.

    Following the conclusion of Group Phase action, attention now turns to the Inter-Group Phase.

    The Inter-Group Phase, scheduled for 24 September – 5 October, will once again see Port Harcourt play host, this time to all teams in the Atlantic Conference, including Group A participants Comets, Lagos Legends, and Hoops & Read.

  • Rivers Hoopers drown Kwara Falcons to begin NBPL title defense

    Rivers Hoopers drown Kwara Falcons to begin NBPL title defense

    John Idoga put up 18 points as Rivers Hoopers began their Nigeria Basketball Premier League title defense with a comfortable 83-61 win over Kwara Falcons in Port Harcourt on Monday.

    The reigning champions who are seeking a three-peat of NBPL titles opted for a mix of youth and experience in their Starting Five, as vice-captain Nwaiwu Buchi Vincent, Michael Daramola, and Samuel Sani featured alongside Victor Sunday and new recruit Favour Komene.

    The KingsMen quickly established their dominance with a 9-2 run, with Victor Sunday and Michael Daramola particularly impressive in the opening minutes. But the Falcons fought back valiantly to reduce the deficit to four points as the first quarter ended 23-19 in favour of Rivers Hoopers.

    Coach Ogoh Odaudu rang a few changes in the second quarter, and with the introduction of team captain Victor Koko Anthony providing more defensive stability as well as the industry of Samuel Sani and John Idoga, the KingsMen showed dominance to clinch the second quarter by 11 points, with the score at 45-30 heading into the halftime break.

    The third quarter was more of the same as Rivers Hoopers outscored Kwara Falcons by 10 points, for a 72-47 lead heading into the fourth.

    With victory in sight, Coach Ogoh Odaudu elected to give his team’s new boys a good run of game time, only re-introducing Buchi and Daramola in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, which ended 11-14 to Kwara Falcons.

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    Reacting to his fourth quarter strategy, Odaudu said: “By the end of the third quarter the game was almost over, and there was no way they [Kwara Falcons] were going to come back. There were a lot of new faces on the team, and I wanted to see how well they would do. I think they held their own, put a lot of pressure on the ball and ran the lanes very well.”

    In the end, the KingsMen did enough to earn a comfortable 22-point victory over Kwara Falcons as the final score stood at 83-61.

    Aside from John Idoga who scored a game-high 18 points, Favour Komene (11) and Samuel Sani (10) also hit double figures for the KingsMen, while captain Victor KAnthony Koko and Michael Daramola put up 9 points each to cement a result which was satisfactory for Odaudu.

    “I think it was a good game, even though it was the first game for us. We have a couple of new guys, and we’ve not quite gelled together yet, but all in all I think it was a good game. 22 points is not easy. And kudos to the Kwara [Falcons] team too; they had limited numbers, but they gave us a good fight. Hopefully we’ll come back better in the next game and take care of a lot of things that we did not quite do right this time around,” he said.

    Both teams will square off in the return fixture at the same venue by 4pm on Wednesday, 3rd September.

  • Rivers Hoopers  begin league title defense against Kwara Falcons today

    Rivers Hoopers  begin league title defense against Kwara Falcons today

    Reigning Nigeria Basketball Premier League (NBPL) champions, Rivers Hoopers, will begin their title defense against 2022 champions Kwara Falcons  today, 1st  September.

    Both teams were earlier drawn in the Atlantic Conference Group B of the 2025 NBPL season alongside Oluyole Warriors and Delta Force. However, both Oluyole Warriors and Delta Force decided to opt out of the league, leaving just Rivers Hoopers and Kwara Falcons as the only participants in Group B.

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    The game between Rivers Hoopers and Kwara Falcons will take place at the Indoor Basketball Court, on 59 Niger Street, Port Harcourt Township, by 4pm, with the reverse fixture expected few days later.

    Per league regulations for the 2025 NBPL season, group stage games are billed to be played on a home and away basis before all teams from each conference meet at a central venue for the Inter-Group Phase.

    The Inter-Group Phase (which will also be held in Port Harcourt) is scheduled for 24 September – 5 October.

    Recall that en route to clinching the 2024 NBPL title, Rivers Hoopers handed Kwara Falcons a heavy 104-46 defeat during last season’s Atlantic Conference Phase, as well as beating the Falcons 89-34 during the Final 8 in Port Harcourt.

  • BAL Playoffs: Rivers Hoopers, US Monastir renew rivalries with ‘Seeding’ matchup

    BAL Playoffs: Rivers Hoopers, US Monastir renew rivalries with ‘Seeding’ matchup

    2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) bronze-medallists, Rivers Hoopers, will face Union Sportive Monastirienne at the placement tie tomorrow  June 7, ahead of the quarter-finals in Pretoria, South Africa.

    According to the Playoffs Team Ranking, the six-time Nigerian League Champions who sealed consecutive Playoffs appearances by finishing second in the Kalahari Conference with a 4-2 mark, were ranked fourth overall on the rankings.

    While nine-time Tunisian champions, US Monastir who topped the Sahara Conference standings, were ranked third overall. Both teams finished with identical records for four wins and two losses from their respective conferences.

    This will be the fifth meeting between Rivers Hoopers and US Monastir in BAL history, with the previous four meetings evenly split at two wins apiece.

    En route to finishing third at BAL Season 4, Rivers Hoopers and US Monastir met three times; twice in the Sahara Conference where both teams won one game each, before the KingsMen knocked out the 2022 champions in an electrifying quarter-final showdown.

    Monastir had earlier beaten Rivers Hoopers in their first ever meeting during the Group phase of the inaugural BAL season.

    The fifth instalment of what has grown to be one of the oldest and fiercest BAL rivalries holds tomorrow,  7th  June.

    Meanwhile, top two teams from each of the three conferences (Sahara, Nile, and Kalahari) qualified for the playoffs, along with the top two third-place teams across the three conferences.

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    In the Basketball Africa League (BAL), seeding games are played before the playoffs to determine the playoff bracket matchups and seeding for the single-elimination playoffs.

    The outcome of these matches will determine the final seeding for the quarter-finals.

    The BAL Season 5 Playoffs  which  run from 6th  to 14th  June,  begins with the seeding games today, 6th  June. All games will be played at the SunBet Arena, Pretoria, South Africa.

    THE PLACEMENT MATCHUPS:

    1st vs. 2nd seed: Al Ahli vs. Al Ittihad

    3rd  vs. 4th  seed: US Monastir vs. Rivers Hoopers

    5th   vs.6th seed: Petro de Luanda vs. APR

    7th vs. 8th seed: Kriol Star vs. FUS Rabat

  • BAL seeding matchup: Amayo fancies  Rivers Hoopers to drown US Monastir

    BAL seeding matchup: Amayo fancies  Rivers Hoopers to drown US Monastir

    Rivers Hoopers guard Kelvin Amayo is confident that the KingsMen will showcase a high level of intensity on defense ahead of their seeding game against US Monastir on June 7 in Pretoria.

    The KingsMen, who are ranked fourth, will be up against third seed, Us Monastir, in a seeding game tomorrow.

    Amayo was gracious and quick to congratulate US Monastir for entering the BAL Season 5 Playoffs as Sahara Conference winners.

     He said, “I just want to say congrats to US Monastir. I watched them in the Sahara Conference, [and] they played well. They’re definitely not the same team from last year to this year.

    Amayo, who led the Kalahari Conference in blocks, believes that the team’s defensive efforts will be crucial in limiting the Sahara Conference winners.

     “I think what we are going to do is showcase a high level of intensity in the defensive end,” Amayo said.

    The 6-foot-4 guard has a positive record against US Monastir, having helped Rivers Hoopers win 92-88 in the 2024 BAL quarterfinals with 18 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists.

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    Both teams have grown to become familiar foes at the BAL and are now set for the fifth instalment of their growing rivalry, with the previous four meetings evenly split at two wins apiece.

    Most recently, the KingsMen knocked out US Monastir in an electrifying quarter-final showdown at the BAL Season 4, which ended 92-88 in favour of the Hoopers.

    They face the KingsMen on Saturday, June 7, in one of the four seeding games before the 2025 BAL quarter-finals at 6pm local time (6pm Nigerian time), and Amayo is positive about the meeting.

     “Everybody is going to have fun, and I think Saturday is a great game for everybody to come and watch,” Amayo added.

  • BAL Playoffs:  Odaudu banks on  new recruits  for  Hoopers’ assault

    BAL Playoffs:  Odaudu banks on  new recruits  for  Hoopers’ assault

    Rivers Hoopers coach Ogoh Odaudu has announced that the team has made additions to its squad to address defensive issues ahead of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs in Pretoria, South Africa.

    According to Odaudu, the team’s defensive problems were a major concern after finishing the Kalahari Conference with two losses to Al Ittihad Alexandria.

    To address this issue, the team has brought in Ahmed Doumbia, a defensive-minded player from the French League and Chingka Garba a Nigerian who plays in Rwanda.

    “We wanted to address that [defensive problems], so we wanted to bring someone who will address that issue,” Odaudu said.

    Pressed  about the addition of Ahmed Doumbia and Garba Chingka, Odaudu replied: “We needed to address the deficiency in defence.

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    “Of course, Ahmed plays in the French League. [He is] very defensive minded and, of course, he is a beast on the offense. We needed someone to assist Kelvin [Amayo] in defensive duties in the back court, so we brought him [Doumbia] here.”

    Preparation has been all plain sailing for Odaudu, with Nigeria forward Chingka joining the fold to stack up the quality of the team.

    “Also, we brought in another player, Odaudu said. “We were almost playing Peter [[Olisemeka] to the ground. We needed someone who could do that, too that was why we brought in Garba Chingka.

    The KingsMen will face US Monastir in the seeding game on Saturday, June 7, a side they had played four times previously and won as much as they had lost (twice).

  • Rivers Hoopers recruit  French -Guinean Doumbia for BAL Playoffs

    Rivers Hoopers recruit  French -Guinean Doumbia for BAL Playoffs

    Rivers Hoopers have added French-Guinean guard Ahmed Doumbia to their roster for the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs in Pretoria.

    Doumbia, 35, brings extensive experience playing in France’s Pro B league, most recently with Union Basket Chartres Metropole.

    The Frenchman has represented Guinea internationally, featuring in the 2025 AfroBasket qualifiers in February, where he averaged 10 points across three games, contributing to two wins.

    He also participated in the FIBA AfroBasket Championship qualifiers in 2021, averaging 13 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game.

    The 6’5″ combo guard’s club career includes stints with several French teams, such as Angers BC, JSA Bordeaux, Gries Oberhoffen, ADA Blois, Union Tours Metropole, and CEP Lorient.

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    Doumbia’s signing is the second major addition to Rivers Hoopers’ roster for the BAL playoffs in June, following the recent announcement of power forward Garba Chingka from Orion Basketball Club in Rwanda.

    The team finished runners-up at the Kalahari Conference in April and aims to improve on their third-place finish in the previous BAL outing in 2024.

  • Garba joins Rivers Hoopers ahead of BAL Season 5 Playoffs

    Garba joins Rivers Hoopers ahead of BAL Season 5 Playoffs

    Rivers Hoopers have completed the signing of Chingka Garba for the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs in Pretoria, South Africa.

    Garba joins the KingsMen from Orion Basketball Club in Rwanda, where he proved his mettle as one of the most efficient players in the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL).

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    He also starred for Gboko City Chiefs during the 2024 Nigeria Premier Basketball League (NPBL) where he averaged near double-doubles, leading to his inclusion in the league’s All-star At 6’8”Garba brings size, mobility, on-court intelligence, and an aggressive style of play that’s expected to give the KingsMen a new dynamic in both offense and defense, ahead of the BAL season 5 playoffs billed to hold between 6th-14th June, in Pretoria, South Africa.