Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers secured a third-place finish at the Basketball Africa League Season 4 (BAL4) by defeating the Cape Town Tigers 80-57.
Coach Ogor Odaudu’s team achieved their goal of ending on the podium, dismantling the South African team by 23 points. Kelvin Amayo was the standout performer for the Nigerian team, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Coach Odaudu, honored before the game as the Coach of the Year, demonstrated why he deserved the accolade with a sterling performance from his team. David Ike, Amayo, Devine Eke, Will Perry, and John Wilkins took to the floor, with Ike winning the tip-off jump ball and Amayo making the first basket of the match at the BK Arena in Kigali.
Ngor Santino Yewet Manyang made the first three-pointer to draw the South Africans close at 4-3, but the Nigerians pulled away as the first quarter continued, ending it 25-8, thanks to five three-point shots from Perry (2), Wilkins, Eke, and Amayo.
The Tigers came back strongly in the second quarter, winning 21-18. However, there was another huge win for Hoopers in the third quarter, with a 20-9 victory. Though they lost the fourth quarter by two points, the Port Harcourt-based team had done more than enough to secure third place in their debut appearance at the BAL Playoffs.
Eke contributed 20 points, nine rebounds, and one assist, while Perry finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. The team celebrated by singing “Naija no dey carry last” as Afrobeat triumphed over Amapiano in Kigali.
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