Rivers State sponsored side Rivers Hoopers on Saturday won the 2023 Nigeria Premier Basketball League Final Four tournament in style following an emphatic win over Nigeria Customs, www.aclsports.com reports.
Hoopers, with the added advantage of staging the season-ending Final Four on home court exerted their superiority on the other top three teams in the country, beating them all in the three days tournament witnessed by Rivers State’s Commissioner for Sports, Barrister Christopher Green.
Rivers Hoopers had beaten Gboko City Chiefs 67-62 points on Thursday as well as Hoops and Read 74-69 on Friday to set up a straightforward finale against Customs who saw their 12-game unbeaten run snapped by Hoops and Read on Friday evening.
Ogoh Odaudu’s wards did the business when it mattered most, ensuring a nine-point gap at the end of each quarter starting with their 21-12 points lead at the end of the first quarter. The same margin was maintained at the end of the first half as the King’s Men led 38-27 points.
From then on, the gap widened and the hosts breezed through the second half with a flourish – Victor Koko and Abel Offia mesmerizing with their close and long range finishes respectively. In fact, Offia had a run of three consecutive three-pointers in the final quarter to eventually put the sting out of the tie.
Offia still indeed provided the final act of the game, releasing an exquisite three-pointer as the buzzer went on to add gloss to Rivers Hoopers’ 77-57 points victory. The win means that Hoopers went through the entire season – Conference and Final Four – unbeaten (13 matches in all) and they will now represent Nigeria at the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Earlier in the day, Gboko City Chiefs needed overtime to see off Hoops and Read 80-70pts. Full time had ended 70-70. The result also meant that among the post-season contestants, only Hoops and Read failed to win a single game at the Final Four.
Saturday’s grand finale was attended by top dignitaries including the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) chairman Engineer Musa Kida and Barrister Green.
