Basketball: Rivers Hoopers End 2025 Final Eight Playoffs with Comfortable Win Over Falcons
Kelvin Amayo dropped seventeen (17) points to lead Rivers Hoopers to an 83-69 victory over Kwara Falcons, as the defending champions wrapped up their 2025 Nigeria Premier Basketball League (NPBL) Final Eight Playoffs in comfortable fashion. Amayo, who missed Rivers Hoopers’ loss to Lagos Legends due to fitness concerns, put up a commanding performance against Kwara Falcons which included a game-high five (5) assists as well as five (5) rebounds. With a record of six losses from six games at the Final Eight Playoffs and having already suffered three straight defeats to Rivers Hoopers during the Group and Inter-Group Phases, 2022 champions Kwara Falcons entered the game with nothing but pride to play for and started brightly to take the first quarter 16-19. But once Mustapha Oyebanji shot from a distance to tie the game upon resumption for the second quarter, and Peter Olisemeka made a three-point play, scoring a layup and a foul, the KingsMen took total control of the game until full-time. The reigning champions carried an eleven-point lead into the half-time break (45-34), then Kwara Falcons reduced the margin to seven points at the end of the third quarter (63-56), before the hosts eventually wrapped up the game fourteen points better than their opponents (83-69). Aside from Amayo, three other KingsMen also notched double digits for points, as Oyebanji dropped fourteen (14) points, which included four (4) three-pointers; Malik Miller scored thirteen (13) along with seven (7) rebounds; and Buchi Nwaiwu put up ten points as well as six (6) rebounds. The Rivers Hoopers bench chipped in with forty-three (43) points in a performance which was pleasing for Head Coach Ogoh Odaudu. “We’re happy we made the Final Four; that was our target right from the beginning, and we’ve done that. [But] it’s not over yet; we are going to take a couple of days off, get some rest, and then come back and try to fix all the things we didn’t quite do well on this Final Eight,” he said. Through the Final Eight, the KingsMen displayed the best offensive efficiency, but the seasoned gaffer thinks his team has work to do on the defensive end. “Well, we’ve been talking about it a lot. I emphasise every day about rebounds and what we need to do. We have to make stops, we have to box out, and we have to play help defense. As a unit we have to play better defense, and that’s mostly what we’re going to be working on. We have two to three weeks between now and the Final Four, so we’re going to make sure that before jump ball we’ll be fine,” he insisted. The Final Four, which will crown Nigeria’s basketball kings for 2025, will see Rivers Hoopers attempt to successfully defend their title for the second year running against the likes of Lagos Legends, Gboko City Chiefs, and Nigeria Customs. Looking ahead to the Final Four, 2024 NPBL Finals Most Valuable Player Kelvin Amayo promised a better showing. “I came [into the team] the day before the Final Eight, so we had a plan to get me going little by little. Every single day I feel like I was getting better and in better shape, and today I feel like I was good and pushed myself even more. Now there’s two weeks, and you’ll see a bigger show in the Final Four,” said Amayo. The 2025 NPBL Final Four is slated to hold between 20-24 November, 2025. Games will be played in a round robin format, with all teams playing once against the other three teams.
