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Basketball: Rivers Hoopers Suffer Defeat to US Monastir in Seeding Game

Fola Badmus3 months ago3 months ago15 mins

Rahpiael Putney scored a Basketball Africa League (BAL) career-high 28 points along with 7 rebounds to lead the charge for Rivers Hoopers, but the Nigerian champions succumbed to an 89-81 defeat by Tunisia powerhouse US Monastir in the final seeding game on Saturday. Putney stole the show in a tightly contested first quarter during which both teams exchanged leads nine times, as he led from the front with 10 points to his name, before Madut Akec scored a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the 1st quarter to hand Rivers Hoopers a 2-point lead at 16-14. Ahmed Doumbia scored 7 points in 2 minutes midway through the 2nd quarter to stretch the KingsMen’s lead to 6 points at 27-21. Michael Okiki then found Madut Akec on a fast break for the South Sudanese forward to net an easy score with one of the best plays of the first half as Rivers Hoopers led by 4 points at Halftime with the score at 36-32. Rahpiael Putney, who scored 16 first half points, stayed hot at the start of the 3rd quarter, sinking back-to-back threes to stretch the lead to 9 points. But Monastir responded quickly with hot hands from Andrew Edogi, Patrick Hardy Jr., and Osiris Eldridge who scored in quick succession from the bench to rattle the KingsMen and steal a 4-point lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. US Monastir scored a whopping 41 points from the bench, compared to Rivers Hoopers’ 19. The fourth quarter belonged to BAL elevate star, Babacar Sane who ran the show for Monastir as the 2022 Champions opened up a 13-point lead and never looked back. Ahmed Doumbia brought some cheers to the crowd when he drilled in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from deep to cut the deficit to 8 points, as Monastir held on for an 89-81 win. Peter Olisemeka was again efficient for the Rivers Hoopers, scoring the team’s only double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, with Madut Akec who notched 15 points the only other player to hit double figures for the KingsMen. Speaking after the game, Rivers Hoopers Head Coach, Ogoh Oduaudu blamed the defeat on a loss of concentration in the third quarter. He said “Well, I think it’s [due to] a loss of concentration. We were up there in the first two quarters and then in the 3rd quarter everything broke down. We’re happy it happened in a game that was just a seeding game. Despite the loss, the BAL Season four coach of the year was however pleased with the performance of his team and was adamant of a better showing in the quarterfinals. “We didn’t want this to happen in the quarterfinals. So it gives us the opportunity to go back and try to clean it up tomorrow before we come back for the quarterfinals on Monday. But in all, I think we played a very good game and except for that break in the 3rd quarter I’m impressed with what they did.” he added. The outcome of the game means Rivers Hoopers will square up against Rwanda’s APR in the BAL Season 5 quarterfinals on Monday, 9th June, while US Monastir face defending champions Petro de Luanda.

Basketball: Rivers Hoopers’ Amayo Upbeat Ahead Of US Monastir Clash

Fola Badmus4 months ago4 months ago03 mins

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.”

Basketball: Rivers Hoopers To Face US Monastir In BAL Season 5 Seeding Game

Fola Badmus4 months ago4 months ago03 mins

2024 Basketball Africa League [BAL] bronze-medallists Rivers Hoopers will face Union Sportive Monastirienne at the placement tie on Saturday, June 7, ahead of the quarter-finals in Pretoria, South Africa. According to the Playoffs Team Ranking, the six-time Nigerian League Champions who sealed consecutive Playoffs appearances by finishing second in the Kalahari Conference with a 4-2 mark, were ranked fourth overall on the rankings. While nine-time Tunisian champions, US Monastir who topped the Sahara Conference standings, were ranked third overall. Both teams finished with identical records for four wins and two losses from their respective conferences. This will be the fifth meeting between Rivers Hoopers and US Monastir in BAL history, with the previous four meetings evenly split at two wins apiece. En route to finishing third at BAL Season 4, Rivers Hoopers and US Monastir met three times; twice in the Sahara Conference where both teams won one game each, before the KingsMen knocked out the 2022 champions in an electrifying quarter-final showdown. Monastir had earlier beaten Rivers Hoopers in their first ever meeting during the Group phase of the inaugural BAL season. The fifth installment of what has grown to be one of the oldest and fiercest BAL rivalries is billed to take place on Saturday, 7th June, 2025. Meanwhile, top two teams from each of the three conferences (Sahara, Nile, and Kalahari) qualified for the playoffs, along with the top two third-place teams across the three conferences. In the Basketball Africa League (BAL), seeding games are played before the playoffs to determine the playoff bracket matchups and seeding for the single-elimination playoffs. The placement ties will feature the following matchups:1st – 2nd seed: Al Ahli vs Al Ittihad3rd – 4th seed: US Monastir vs Rivers Hoopers5th – 6th seed: Petro de Luanda vs APR7th – 8th seed: Kriol Star vs FUS Rabat The outcome of these matches will determine the final seeding for the quarter-finals. The BAL Season 5 Playoffs will run from 6th-14th June, 2025, starting with the seeding games on Friday, 6th June. All games will be played at the SunBet Arena, Pretoria, South Africa.