Nigeria’s representative at the ongoing 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL), Rivers Hoopers BC, has made history by reaching their first-ever semi-final in the tournament. They achieved this milestone by securing a hard-fought 92-88 victory over former BAL champions US Monastir of Tunisia in the quarter-final.
Rivers Hoopers entered the quarterfinal match after consecutive defeats against US Monastir in the final game of the Sahara Conference and AS Douanes of Senegal during the classification round at the BAL Playoffs in Kigali, Rwanda. Conversely, US Monastir was on a high, riding a wave of four straight wins.
Despite this, the KingsMen, Rivers Hoopers, started the game brightly and maintained a strong presence until late in the opening quarter when US Monastir rallied to end the first quarter with a slim 21-20 lead. Rivers Hoopers increased their intensity in the second quarter, enjoying a brilliant scoring run to end the quarter 25-19, giving them a five-point lead at halftime, with the scores at 45-40.
The competitive nature of both teams was evident throughout the third quarter, with Rivers Hoopers edging out their Tunisian opponents 23-22 to take a six-point lead into the fourth quarter, with the scoreboard reading 68-62. A tense fourth quarter saw US Monastir outscore Rivers Hoopers by two points, but the Hoopers held on for a nervy four-point win, finishing the game at 92-88.
Will Perry was named the game’s top performer, playing every second of the contest and scoring a game-high 33 points, along with five rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Kelvin Amayo, Peter Olisemeka, and Devine Eke all achieved double-doubles, contributing significantly to the victory.
This victory makes Rivers Hoopers the first Nigerian team to reach the last four in Africa’s premier club basketball championship. Their next challenge is a semi-final match against Libya’s Al Ahly on Wednesday, May 29, at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
