Rivers Hoopers cruised to a 107-53 victory over Niger Potters in their opening Group A game of the NBBF President Cup Final 8 at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere-Lagos on Wednesday.
Hoopers shot 31/36 from the field and 39.5% from beyond the arc as they extended their winning streak to six games in the NBBF President Cup.
Buchi Nwaiwu led the way with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists from the bench. Nwaiwu made one steal and one block shot in 15 minutes for the KingsMen.
Emmanuel Balogun added 12 points and 4 of 9 from the three point line while Abdul Yahaya and Jackson Enyinna scored 10 points each. Enyinna who played his second competitive game for Rivers Hoopers made a 100% from the field, 5/5 in 12 minutes.
At the end of the first quarter, Hoopers were on a 22 point-lead over Potters who looked disjointed and had no answers for the Port Harcourt side on either end of the floor. The gap was extended to 40 points with 4:25 left in the third quarter.
Balogun had shot 3/4 from the deep at half time while Ronald Alalibo contributed 9 points with 3-of-6 from behind the arc as Hoopers shot 10/20 in the first half.
Solomon Ajegbeyi was a point and rebound short of a double-double, he made nine points and nine rebounds with six assists and three steals to go with it.
The KingsMen made it a 100 point after Ajegbeyi scored a jumper with 2:05 left on the clock. They however added 7 points before running down the clock in the last 10 seconds of the game.
Abdul Ibrahim and Samuel Anthony both combined for 23 points against Rivers Hoopers.
An elated Hoopers head coach Ogoh Odaudu said his team took advantage of a tired Potters side who got into Lagos early hours of Wednesday morning.
“I think fatigue was a major factor for Potters because they arrived at 3am this morning. It will be sometime tomorrow before they get their legs back.”
“We did the little things we were supposed to do. We shot the ball well from the three point line, moved the ball well and ended up scoring above a 100. It is not a test for us and we won’t allow it get to our head.”
Rivers Hoopers will play Benue Braves at 1pm on Thursday.
Other results
Nigeria Army Rockets 63-69 Raptors
Kwara Falcons 78-68 Lagos Islanders
Civil defenders walked over Benue braves who were still on their way to Lagos.
