Year: 2025

Reigning Nigeria Basketball Premier League (NBPL) champions Rivers Hoopers put up a performance underlined by resilience and character, as they overturned a 4-point deficit at halftime to beat Lagos Legends 89-70 in the final game of the Atlantic Conference Phase Two. In what was essentially a battle for pride and supremacy, it was Lagos Legends who scored the game’s first points as they opened up an early lead that stretched to nine points at 26-17 by the end of the first quarter, which was characterised by near misses for the KingsMen. The KingsMen improved in their shot accuracy during the second quarter, as vice-captain Buchi Nwaiwu and Victor Sunday combined for fourteen points to cut the deficit to four points with the halftime score at 47-43. The halftime break offered Rivers Hoopers Head Coach Ogoh Odaudu the opportunity to make tactical tweaks, reinforcing how the team contained their opponents. “The first thing that I spoke about in the huddle today was transition defense, the need to get back on time quickly. We didn’t do that well. When we corrected it later on, the game changed [in our favour], but in the first half they killed us on the transition offense. “It’s something that we’re definitely going to work on going forward,” he revealed. The KingsMen responded positively to Odaudu’s halftime instructions and, buoyed by the vociferous crowd, came out with much verve in the third. Samuel Sani showed outstanding industry, scoring big points along with vital rebounds. But it was John Idoga who got the crowd rocking with a game-tying shot from deep to level the score at 61-61, before Abdul Malik sent the arena into a frenzy with the last sequence of the third quarter, sinking one free throw followed by a brilliant layup to hand the hosts the lead for the first time with the score at 64-61. From that moment on, it was one-way traffic as Malik’s energy inspired the team to an outstanding performance in the fourth quarter, during which they restricted their opponents to just nine (9) points while scoring twenty-five (25) to close out the game at 89-70. Speaking after the game, Odaudu could not hide his admiration for his standout performers. “I am very proud of both of them, Malik and especially Favour [Komene]. They changed the tempo and the dynamic of the game. They are my two MVPs for today’s game. These are people who hadn’t seen major minutes in all the games, but they stepped up when it mattered most and helped us out. He further said such mentality shown by Malik and Favour is what makes Rivers Hoopers formidable. “That’s how it’s supposed to be. There’s no specific day, and there’s no particular person who is a hero on this team. Anybody can wake up any day and bail us out, and that’s what Milk did today,” he pointed out. Buchi Nwaiwu alongside John Idoga, top-scored for the KingsMen with fifteen points, while Sani (14) and Victor Sunday (12) also hit double figures. The result meant Rivers Hoopers completed Phase Two of the Atlantic Conference with a perfect record, much to the delight of the team’s gaffer, who also pointed out some areas for improvement. “I’m happy that it was a clean sweep, but I’m also not happy with the way we played. It wasn’t entirely convincing. I don’t think the scoreline reflected the true situation of the game. We started off really badly with too many mistakes; we missed too many open baskets, so it’s something that we have to go back to the drawing board and work on. In all, I’m happy that we won, and we’ll move on from there.” Attention now shifts to Phase Three of the NBPL 2025 season which will see the top four teams from both Conferences gather for the Playoffs at a yet to be named venue.