Reigning champions of the Nigeria Premier Basketball League (NPBL), Rivers Hoopers defeated Kano Pillars 59-42 in the quarterfinals of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Basketball Championship in Abuja on Saturday.
It was a game that renewed old rivalry between the two teams and the two coaches (Ogoh Odaudu and Scott Nnaji).
Although 99% of Kano Pillars’ players who last played against Hoopers in the league had left the team, leaving just Azuoma Dike as the only veteran on the team.
The KingsMen, whose last meeting with Pillars was the group stage of the 2022 NPBL Final Eight in Lagos, started the game with a 6-0 run in the first quarter.
Hoopers led in all four quarters of the game, and had a slim 31-22 lead at the break.
Despite efforts from Pillars to close the gap in the third, the KingsMen outscored Pillars 12-10 to take an 11-point lead into the last quarter.
Pillars, who played with a six-man rotation, wore out in the fourth and could barely keep up with the momentum in the last 5 minutes of the game.
Rivers Hoopers will play Suleja Hornets in the semis on Saturday evening at 4pm.
