Rivers Hoopers will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs loss to Union Sportive Monastir when they face in-form APR of Rwanda in the quarterfinals today.
The Hoopers started brightly against Monastir, outscoring the Tunisians in the first half. However, they ran out of steam in the second half, struggling defensively and offensively, conceding 57 points while managing only 45 themselves.
This isn’t the first time Hoopers have stumbled in a seeding game. Last year, they also lost their seeding matchup but bounced back to win their quarterfinal game. They’ll be hoping for a similar turnaround when they take on APR, who stunned fans at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria on Friday with a commanding 75-57 win over defending champions Petro de Luanda.
The KingsMen will need every player to step up against the determined Rwandan side. Kevin Amayo, one of their standout performers over the past two seasons, was limited to just one point in the loss to Monastir—a performance they’ll need to improve on drastically.
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Head coach Ogoh Odaudu remains optimistic, emphasizing that it’s better to learn lessons now than later.
“It was a loss of concentration. We were in control during the first two quarters, but everything fell apart in the third. We’re glad it happened in a seeding game,” Odaudu said.
“We don’t want this to happen in the quarterfinals, so this gives us a chance to go back, work harder, and fix our mistakes before Monday.”
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