Nigerian Champions Rivers Hoopers defeated APR 78-71 in double overtime this past weekend in Dakar, Senegal, to become the first Nigerian team to advance to the Basketball Africa League playoffs, which are set to take place later this month in Kigali.
Peter Olisemeka led the Nigerian club to win for the second straight game with an incredible performance that included a double-double of 17 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks.
All of the Rivers Hoopers’ starters finished with double digits, led by Devine Eke, who tallied 18 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 43 minutes. John Wilkins finished with 14, Kelvin Amayo with 13, and Will Perry with 11.
Both Hoopers and APR went into the match hoping to win after losing to AS Douanes and US Monastir, respectively, in their prior matches.
While Rivers Hoopers knew that a win would secure their place at the BAL high table in Kigali, Rwanda, APR needed to win to increase their prospects of making it to the playoffs in their first BAL season.
Both sets of players came out firing in the first few minutes of the game, fighting for every ball and playing strong defence since they knew how important a victory would be for their respective BAL campaigns.
The game began with a score by Noel Obadiah, but Rivers Hoopers’ John Wilkins promptly answered with a 3-pointer. The lead changed hands several times during the back-and-forth play.
The most notable event of the first quarter, which saw APR win 19–16, was the forced substitution of Noel Obadiah, who left the game after just four minutes due to a knee injury.
Adonis Filer was wheeled off the court at the beginning of the third quarter, while Obadiah Noel hobbled off the court four minutes into the game, thus APR was forced to play without him.
The Hoopers came out firing in the second quarter, finishing with strong baskets inside the paint and from deep to take a one-point lead into the half. At the completion of the second quarter, the score was 31–30.
The game carried on like before, but APR opened up a sizable 9-point lead in the last five minutes of the third quarter thanks to a terrible scoring run by Rivers Hoopers, and the KingsMen entered the fourth quarter trailing APR 50-41.
The Nigerian champions demonstrated their resolve in the fourth quarter, erasing the deficit to tie the game at 52-52 within four minutes of the period’s end, determined not to lose for the second straight game.
For the majority of the game, the two teams swapped baskets, but Eke’s put-back with seven minutes remaining was the decisive play that sent the game into its first overtime (58-58).
With a 78-71 victory over APR, Will Perry’s two free throws and Kelvin Amayo’s game-winning 3-pointer were all that was needed to send the KingsMen into their first-ever BAL playoffs.
The KingsMen likely want to forget about their subpar shooting throughout the contest, even with the win.They made 9/42 from deep and 13/28 from the line, but they were outrebounded 62–49 by the Rwandans.
Ahead of Sunday’s final day of the Sahara Conference, the Rwandan champions slumped to a 2-3 record, while the KingsMen qualified with four wins.
On Sunday, APR will take on the hosts AS Douanes, while the Hoopers will play their final game of the Sahara Conference versus US Monstir.