Rivers Hoopers crash out of Basketball Africa League

Rivers Hoopers, Nigeria’s lone representative in the ongoing fifth season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), have bowed out of the competition after suffering a crushing 104-73 defeat to Rwanda’s APR in the quarter-finals on Monday.

The match, held in Pretoria, South Africa, saw the Port Harcourt-based side struggle to keep pace, as they lost every quarter in what turned out to be a one-sided contest. Heading into the play-offs as the fourth seed, the Hoopers had already suffered an 89-81 loss to Tunisia’s US Monastir in their opening seeding fixture over the weekend.

Faced with a must-win situation to keep their title hopes alive, the Nigerian team failed to find their rhythm, allowing APR to dominate proceedings from the start. The Rwandan side’s emphatic win now books them a place in the BAL semi-finals as they continue their quest for the coveted continental title.