Rivers State-based basketball team, Rivers Hoopers, have started the NBBF President Cup in a devastating manner following a heavy defeat meted out to Potters on matchday one.
Hoopers thrashed Potters 107-53 on Wednesday evening in the third game of the President Cup tagged Final 8 at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere.
The Rivers team showed their intentions very early when they registered 22 assists in the first half led by Solomon Ajegbeyi and Buchi Nwaiwu, who both had six assists each.
By the end of the first half, Hoopers had opened up a 35-point lead at 64-29. There would be no coming back from Potters who were outscored everywhere.
While 12 more assists were added in the second half, Nwaiwu led the points with 19, followed by his teammate, Emmanuel Balogun who finished with 13 points.
For Potters, Abdul Ibrahim had 12 points and four rebounds, while Samuel Anthony added 11 points and two rebounds.
Raptors survive Army Rockets in Final 8 opener
Earlier on, in the first match of the NBBF President Cup, Raptors and the Nigerian Army Rockets put on a show in a keenly contested Final 8 opener.
A turn around in the second quarter for the Rockets, they now lead 40-28. A very aggressive play from the Camouflage Men!!
— ACLSports (@acl_sports) November 13, 2019#NBBFPresidentCup #NBBFPresidentCupFinals #YourSportsMemo pic.twitter.com/wMYhJLW78I
Raptors came from behind to beat the Rockets 63-69 in the afternoon.
It was really a tightly contested affair, with Raptors taking the first quarter 17-20 before an aggressive display in the second quarter saw Rockets bounce back to 40-28 at the break.
However, in a total turn of events, Raptors made it a one-point game heading into the final quarter before finally wrapping up the game in the fourth.
Ebuka Ifeanyi led the scores with a double-double, 19 points, and 10 rebounds, with his Raptors teammate, Ogini Kachukwu registering 17 points and seven rebounds.
Mohammed Musa also had a double-double in the match for Rockets, 15 points, and 10 rebounds, with Ojukwu Amaechi adding 12 points and six rebounds.
In the other two matches, Kwara Falcons defeated Lagos Islanders 78-68, while Civil Defenders walked over Benue Braves in the final game.
Full Results
Army Rockets 63-69 Raptors
Kwara Falcons 78-68 Lagos Islanders
Rivers Hoopers 107-53 Potters
Civil Defenders w/o Benue Braves
