With just two days to the tip-off of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) season 5 playoffs, Rivers Hoopers will be aiming to make history, potentially becoming the first-ever Nigerian team to lift the prestigious trophy.
The Nigerian champions arrived yesterday in Pretoria, South Africa for the Basketball Africa League Playoffs which will run from Friday, June 6 to Sunday, June 14.
They are joining seven other elite teams to compete for the coveted title in Pretoria including Kriol Star (Cape Verde), Al Ahli SC (Libya), FUS De Rabat (Morocco), Al Ittihad Alexandria (Egypt), Petro De Luanda (Angola), APR (Rwanda) and US Monastir (Tunisia).
Rivers Hoopers are set to make their third appearance in the tournament after an outstanding performance in the Nigeria Premier Basketball League, where they clinched the title with an unbeaten run.
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Rivers Hoopers went on to compete in the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Kalahari Conference, where they put up an impressive showing, ending with a 4–2 record to finish second and qualify for the playoffs.
They kicked off their campaign with a dominant 81–60 win over Stade Malien and wrapped up the group phase with another convincing victory against the same team, 79–59. Their only defeats came at the hands of the unbeaten Al Ittihad Alexandria, who topped the conference with a perfect 6–0 record.
The Nigerian champions will be looking to build on their previous BAL campaign, where they secured the bronze medal after a commanding 23-point win over the Cape Town Tigers, making history as the first Nigerian team to reach that milestone.
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