Basketball: Rivers Hoopers’ Amayo Upbeat Ahead Of US Monastir Clash
Rivers Hoopers guard Kelvin Amayo is confident that the KingsMen will showcase a high level of intensity on defense ahead of their seeding game against US Monastir on June 7 in Pretoria. The KingsMen, who are ranked fourth, will be up against third seed, Us Monastir, in a seeding game on Saturday. Kelvin Amayo was gracious and quick to congratulate US Monastir for entering the BAL Season 5 Playoffs as Sahara Conference winners. He said, “I just want to say congrats to US Monastir. I watched them in the Sahara Conference, [and] they played well. They’re definitely not the same team from last year to this year. Amayo, who led the Kalahari Conference in blocks, believes that the team’s defensive efforts will be crucial in limiting the Sahara Conference winners. “I think what we are going to do is showcase a high level of intensity in the defensive end,” Amayo said. The 6-foot-4 guard has a positive record against US Monastir, having helped Rivers Hoopers win 92-88 in the 2024 BAL quarterfinals with 18 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists. Both teams have grown to become familiar foes at the BAL and are now set for the fifth installment of their growing rivalry, with the previous four meetings evenly split at two wins apiece. Most recently, the KingsMen knocked out US Monastir in an electrifying quarter-final showdown at the BAL Season 4, which ended 92-88 in favour of the Hoopers. They face the KingsMen on Saturday, June 7, in one of the four seeding games before the 2025 BAL quarter-finals at 6pm local time (6pm Nigerian time), and Amayo is positive about the meeting. “Everybody is going to have fun, and I think Saturday is a great game for everybody to come and watch.”
