Tag: Rivers Hoopers

Rivers Hoopers concluded their Kalahari Conference campaign in  an emphatic fashion with a 79-59 blowout win over Stade Malien, stamping their dominance as they head into the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Playoffs in Pretoria, South Africa.

Having already secured qualification to the playoffs of the 2025 BAL, the KingsMen stepped onto the court with nothing to prove but a lot to affirm, and it was done neatly.

From the tip-off, the Hoopers set the tone, controlling the tempo and keeping Stade Malien in check with a stifling defense that held the Malian side to just 28.6% shooting from the field.

The Nigerian side, on the other hand, shot a solid 45.3% and displayed their growing team chemistry.

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Raphael Putney was the spark plug for the Hoopers, dropping 15 points in under 19 minutes with clinical efficiency knocking down five of his eight attempts at a 62% clip.

Putney was ably supported by Madut Akec, whose hustle on both ends saw him finish with 14 points on 46% shooting. Off the bench, Micheal Afuwape provided instant offense, scoring 13 points in just 14 minutes and converting 80% of his shots, including a perfect 3-for-3 from the line.

Abel Chidiebere Offia added 9 points and Ifeanyi Anthony dropped 9 points and 3 rebounds in 20 minutes.

Rivers Hoopers also outplayed Stade Malien beyond the arc, making nine of their 30 three-point attempts (30%), while Stade Malien managed just 9-of-37 (24.3%). The Hoopers’ ball movement, defensive rotations, and bench depth were simply too much for their opponents.

With this win, Rivers Hoopers closed out the Kalahari Conference with a 4-2 record and firmly focused on their next stop Pretoria, South Africa, where the best of the continent will battle for glory in the BAL Playoffs.

Rivers Hoopers were handed their first loss of the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) campaign, falling 80-100 to Egypt’s Al-Ittihad in their third game of the Kalahari Conference at the Salle Omnisports Moulay Abdellah .

Despite the result, the KingsMen had some strong individual performances in Tuesday’s loss. Madut Akec led the team with 18 points and 4 rebounds. Putney followed with 17 points, while Kelvin Amayo posted an all-around effort with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Maxi Shamba added 11 points off the bench.

The Nigerian league champions showed flashes of their quality, even taking a brief lead in the second quarter. But costly turnovers and breakdowns in transition defense allowed the Egyptian side to take control, especially from beyond the arc.

Al-Ittihad’s Kyle Vinales led all scorers with 26 points and 7 rebounds, proving decisive during key stretches of the game.

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With two wins and one loss now in the bag, Rivers Hoopers will look to bounce back when they face Morocco’s FUS Rabat on Thursday, April 10.

A victory will be vital in their quest to secure a playoff spot in the Kalahari Conference. Rivers Hoopers suffer first loss in Basketball Africa League season five

Rivers Hoopers continued their perfect start to the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Kalahari Conference with a hard-fought 88–82 win over Moroccan champions FUS de Rabat, improving to 2–0 in the tournament.

In a game marked by momentum swings and high-intensity action, the Nigerian champions leaned on rebounding dominance and perimeter precision to seal the result.

Madut Akec led all scorers with 25 points, connecting on 4 of 8 from deep, while Kelvin Amayo followed closely with 23 points and a commanding floor presence throughout the night.

Despite a poor outing from the free-throw line (11-of-27, 41%), Rivers Hoopers shot an efficient 49% from the field and 45% from three-point range.

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Their 43–38 edge on the boards and 23 second-chance points proved crucial, especially in the closing minutes.

Peter Olisemeka controlled the paint with 12 rebounds and 9 points, while Raphael Putney and Shamba Maxi Munanga provided timely buckets and hustle plays on both ends.

FUS de Rabat fought valiantly, with Nisre Zouzoua hitting five triples en route to 23 points. Veteran Abdelhakim Zouita chipped in 13, and Jonathan Devante Jordan tallied a double-double (12 points, 11 assists) but struggled with shooting consistency.

Rivers Hoopers led by as many as 14 points, and despite late pressure from FUS, held their composure to close out another statement win.

The KingsMen will be back on the court tomorrow to play Al-Ittihad of Egypt after observing a one-day break.

Rivers Hoopers Head Coach, Ogoh Odaudu, has stated that his team has what it takes to do better than last year’s outing, at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season 5.

Rivers Hoopers will be involved in the first game at BAL season five, when they take on Stade Malien in the Kalahari Conference opener in Rabat, Morocco tomorrow, 5^th  April.

The reigning Nigerian champions, who have been in closed camping for two weeks, arrived Rabat on Wednesday, ahead of Saturday’s opening game.

Speaking on the team’s preparations so far, the BAL season four Coach of The Year, said:  “Training has gone well so far, we’ve been working very hard for the past two weeks and we’ve made tremendous progress.”

Rivers Hoopers became the first Nigerian side to score a podium finish at BAL when they placed third last year, and while the team aims to do better this season, Coach Ogoh Odaudu insisted that the team’s immediate focus is to qualify for the playoffs which takes place in South Africa later this year.

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“Every tournament is just like an examination, you want to do better than the previous year. We came third last year, but we do not want to jump far ahead of ourselves. Our goal right now is to qualify from Morocco to the finals in South Africa, and then afterwards we can dream of something else. But right now we’re not thinking so far ahead, we want to be one of the two teams to qualify for South Africa at the end [of the Kalahari Conference].” he said.

He however acknowledged the level of difficulty posed by the other teams at BAL by saying “It’s really difficult, right from qualifying from Nigeria. Now everybody knows our name in Africa now, the Rivers Hoopers, so it’s going to be twice as difficult as it was last season. Nobody’s going to underrate Nigeria anymore. They know what we can do. We drew a huge target on our back [last season] and people will be aiming for us now. But we’re just going to play our basketball and hopefully at the end of the day, qualify [for the playoffs].”

As part of BAL requirements, Rivers Hoopers secured the signatures of Point Guard, Maxi Shamba (Congo DR), Forwards Madut Akec (South Sudan) and Raphiael Putney (USA), while retaining the services of Kelvin Amayo and Peter Olisemeka who helped the Kings Men win the Nigeria Premier Basketball League title last year, and BAL elevate youngster David Ugonna, who was also part of the Rivers Hoopers team at BAL season four.

Despite the absence of sharpshooting Will Perry, the tireless Devine Eke, and the experienced John Wilkins who were among the team’s top performers last year, Coach Ogoh Odaudu thinks his current crop of players is equal to the task.

He said: “It’s a quite different team; we have a new point guard (Maxi Shamba), we have Raphiael Putney who’s almost 7-foot tall and can shoot the lights out every court. We also have Madut Akec who I think is an upgrade of what we had last year. So I think the team is good to go. I am not one to single out players, I’m a team player, and the whole team is equally important for what we hope to achieve.”

The Port Harcourt-based  Rivers Hoopers are going  on a familiar terrain again at the Basketball Africa League (BAL), after finishing third in the last edition. TUNDE LIADI here  looks at the team’s chances in  Rabat, Morocco

Nigeria representatives at the forthcoming  Basketball Africa League (BAL) in Morocco , Rivers Hoopers, surprised themselves when they finished third at the fourth edition of the tournament held in Kigali following  an impressive 80-57 points victory over South African’s Cape Town Tigers in the third place game last year.

At the  2024 BAL, Rivers Hoopers had an extraordinary campaign from the Sahara Conference to the playoffs. The serial NBBF Premier League champions,  swept aside AS Douanes, APR and US Monastir who were 2021 runners up and 2022 Champions of BAL, in the Sahara Conference winning four games out of six to top the group.

They dispatched US Monastir 92-88 points  again in the quarter final to record a second win over the Tunisian side from three games. The Nigerian side were beaten after Over Time (OT) by eventual runners up, Al Ahly Ly 89-83 points in the semi-final.

Having set such lofty height the Ogoh Odaudu-led Rivers Hoopers will go with that form to the BAL Season 5 where they have to contend  with FUS de Rabat (Morocco), Stade Malien (Mali) and Al Ittihad Alexandria (Egypt) in the Kalahari Conference with hostilities billed to start tomorrow at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex, Rabat.

Rivers Hoopers departed Nigeria for Morocco ahead of the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) group phase on Wednesday after intensive preparations which began in Port Harcourt and rounded off in  Lagos.

The 2025 edition of the BAL will tip off tomorrow in Morocco, with the Rivers Hoopers facing Stade Malien Basketball in their opening game. They will slug it out with FUS de Rabat on Sunday,  April 6^th,  before another duel with Al Ittihad Alexandria on April 8^th .They will play the return leg of the tie with FUS de Rabat on April 10^th  to kick start the second phase of games.

Teams in the group will compete in a home-and-away format, with the top three in the Kalahari Conference advancing to the playoffs.

To strengthen their roster, the Hoopers have added six new players, including South Sudanese forward Madut Akec, along with Maxi Shamba, Kelvin Amayo, Raphiael Putney, Peter Olisemeka, and David Ugonna from BAL Elevate.

Supporters of Rivers Hoopers and fans of Nigerian basketball have been assured that the tense political situation in Rivers State, occasioned by  the current State of Emergency , will not take a toll on the performances of the reigning Nigerian Champions, as they begin their campaign for honours in this season’s Basketball African League (BAL 5).

According to the President FIBA Africa Zone 3, Col. Samuel Ahmedu (retd) , who is also a member of the outgoing board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), being a team owned and funded by the Rivers State government,  would have long ago tabled a requisition, and received approvals, for the funds and logistics needed for their campaign at the BAL 2025 hence he foresee no problem  about their aspirations in Morocco.

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Incidentally,  prior to leaving Port Harcourt, players and officials of the team, were hosted to a luncheon by the Permanent Secretary of the state’s ministry of sports, Kevin Nweke who reassured them of the unflinching support of the state government, at all times; and urged them to target a place in the final, this time around.

“I speak on behalf of the sports ministry and government, and our charge is for you to go a step further than you did last season. Success is not going to be easy, but having reached the top we expect you to stay there,” Nweke said.

Nigeria’s pride in professional basketball, the Rivers Hoopers have already  settled  down in Rabat, Morocco and the ‘Kings Men’ as the team is also known, are brimming with optimism  ahead of the highly anticipated Basketball Africa League (BAL) Season 5 Kalahari Conference.

The Basketball Africa League, a collaboration between FIBA and the NBA, is hosting its milestone fifth season, and Morocco marks a new host nation for the Kalahari Conference, which tips off on April 5 and runs through April 13 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex.

he Rivers Hoopers are making their third appearance after competing in the 2021 and 2024 seasons and their impressive run last year was highlighted with the contributions of key players like Canadian-Nigerian Kelvin Amayo, who played a pivotal role in their success, alongside Devine Eke and Will Perry, all of whom were named to the All-BAL Teams.

Speaking on his level of preparation, South Sudan forward, Madut Akec, one of the new signings by Rivers Hoopers, said he was looking forward to a good BAL with a good chance of winning it with the Nigerian team.

“It has been a good experience for me. I was in Lagos for a few days to train with the team,” Akec,  the former AS Douanes forward, told Rivers Hoopers media. “Playing for Rivers Hoopers will present me the best opportunity of playing in BAL and also winning it. The team made a good impression last year in the competition. I had a great game for Douanes against them but I am here now and I want to make that count.”

Aside from the Kalahari Conference to be housed in Rabat, there are two other conferences of BAL 5, – the Sahara Conference to be stationed in Dakar, Senegal between April 26^th  and  May 4^th  and the Nile Conference, to be hosted by Rwanda, at the Kigali Arena between May 17^th  and  25^th.

 Rivers Hoopers are in Lagos to continue their preparation for the fifth season of the Basketball Africa League.

Hoopers will utilize the upcoming days by playing some friendly games.

The team will depart Lagos for Rabat on Wednesday, 2 April.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Sports, Kelvin Nweke, hosted the team for lunch just before their departure to Lagos yesterday.

Nweke reassured the team that they would receive continuous support from the Rivers State Government.

He encouraged the team to surpass their third place finish in last season’s BAL.

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“On behalf of the ministry and the state government. We are promising you the best of support.

“We are expecting you to go a step forward from last year’s result. Success is not easy. It is easy to get to the top but staying at the top is more difficult.”

Rivers Hoopers will open their campaign this season against Stade Malien on Saturday, 5 April at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex Rabat, Morocco

Head coach of Nigeria’s Premier Basketball League champions, Rivers Hoopers, Ogoh Odaudu has revealed that the Nigerian league champions would be ready for the 2025 Basketball Africa League, (BAL) Season 5.

Odaudu explained that the  six-time Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Men’s Premier League Kings, are currently in Port Harcourt for the final phase of the team’s training.

Odaudu, who just returned from coaching Rwanda Energy Group basketball club in the Rwanda Basketball League, stated that Rivers Hoopers are putting all finishing touches to ensure they represent Nigeria well at the competition.

He added  that his goal  was  to lead the South-South basketball side a step higher than their previous outing and possibly win the prestigious honour, adding  that Rivers Hoopers have what it takes to go beyond the third place finish it achieved some eight months ago in the ‘Land of a thousand hills — Rwanda.

 “The last time we came third, we’re hoping that you can go out there and give a better performance. There are quite a couple of new teams, stronger teams coming around this time around, so I want to do our best to see what we can do to better position. Third position is not a bad idea, but we want to go a step further this time around,” he said.

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Meanwhile,  Rivers Hoopers have completed the signing of number high profile match winners and the latest being, Congo DR national team captain Maxi Munanga Shamba.

The 31 year old point guard has featured in the former club competition for men (FIBA Africa Champions Cup) before it transitioned to the BAL, for Lupopo (DR Congo), Zamalek (Egypt) and Association Sportive de Sale (Morocco) in 2009, 2013 and 2017 respectively.

In 2019 FIBA AfroCan, the 6’3 guard led his team to win the tournament and also finished as MVP.

Rivers Hoopers, have been drawn in the Kalahari Conference of the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season.

The Port Harcourt-based team will play against FUS Rabat of Morocco, Egypt’s Al Ittihad, and Stade Malien of Mali from 5-13 April at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco.

Nigeria’s representatives at the season five of the Basketball Africa League, Rivers Hoopers have added Raphiael Putney to their roster.
Putney has a lot of experience having played in the G-league, China, Europe, and Saudi Arabia.
The 6-foot-10 power forward tallied a game-high 27 points in his last two games for Cape Town Tigers, which enabled them to win their second consecutive National Championship in August 2022.

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In March 2024, Putney signed with the Pioneros de Los Mochis of the Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacifico (CIBACOPA) in Northwestern Mexico.
The 34-year-old American was named CIBACOPA All-Star after averaging a league-leading 2.7 blocks per game.
Putney is the latest player to sign with the Nigeria Basketball League Champions.

Rivers Hoopers have acquired the services of Madut Akec and Jackson Okoi for season five of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).

Last season, Akec delivered an exceptional performance for AS Douanes when they faced Rivers Hoopers in the BAL Sahara Conference.

In the first game, the small forward, who is six-foot-seven, posted a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and followed up with a player-of-the-game performance by scoring 17 points and 7 rebounds in the second game.

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Meanwhile, Okoi has been on the South Sudan national team since 2020.  The six-foot-five point guard helped his team reach the quarterfinals of the Afrobasket 2021, which was the country’s first major tournament.

He was selected as part of the final roster for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and performed in both FIBA windows during the Afrobasket Qualifiers.

Okoi has played in the Croatian league and the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).

Six-time Nigeria Premier Basketball League champions, Rivers Hoopers, have been drawn to play in the Kalahari Conference of the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season.

In a BAL’s statement released yesterday, the KingsMen will play against FUS Rabat of Morocco, Egypt’s Al Ittihad, and Stade Malien of Mali from 5-13 April at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco.

Hoopers will play the season opener against Stade Malien at 4pm GMT .

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The 2025 BAL teams have been divided into three conferences of four teams each. Each conference will play a 12-game group phase during which each team will face the other three teams in its conference twice.

Top two teams from each conference and the two best third-placed teams from across the three conferences will advance to the playoffs.

The eight qualified teams will play four seeding games, followed by an eight-game, single-elimination playoffs and finals from 6-14 June at the Sunbet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.

Rivers Hoopers will be making their third appearance at the 2025 Basketball Africa League. They featured in the inaugural season held in 2021 and last season’s edition, where they finished third.