Rivers Hoopers rolled to a third straight victory at the ongoing 2026 Nigeria Premier Basketball League (NPBL) Phase I, with a comfortable 75-59 win over Atlantic Conference Group A opponents, Raptors BC, on Tuesday afternoon.
Team captain Victor Koko led all scorers with 16 points but was one rebound short of a double-double. John Idoga contributed 13 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals, while Victor Sunday added 11 points as at least three KingsMen hit double figures for the third game in a row.
After an opening first quarter which saw Rivers Hoopers enjoy a 22-10 lead, Raptors clawed their way back to take the second quarter 19-17, as the halftime score stood at 39-29 in favour of the KingsMen.
Hoopers regrouped to open up a 21-point lead midway through the third quarter, but Raptors rallied through a 16-10 run in the final five minutes to set up an intense fourth quarter.
The KingsMen were able to see out the fourth (16-12) thanks to an improved defensive display, and Eric Okechukwu, who had a solid shift with 8 rebounds, put it down to a concerted team effort.
“We had several discussions during our timeouts,” he explained. “We had to come together to figure out the loopholes and what we were not doing right. We figured it out and decided to distribute the ball more, not play individually, and then we were able to utilise our options to our advantage.”
Okechukwu was one of five players who weren’t among the starting five but made valuable contributions, as the bench accounted for a whopping 42 points (56%).
However, unlike in previous games, the KingsMen gave away 18 turnovers, much to the displeasure of Ronald Alalibo.
“Our performance was below standard today. Inasmuch as we won, there were certain things we didn’t do properly. We committed some unforced errors, and that was down to our attitude towards the game [today],” he stated.
Up next for Rivers Hoopers is a rematch with Hoops & Read, and despite enjoying a dominant 84-58 win over the same opponents on Gameday One, Alalibo thinks his side must double their efforts in order to secure victory.
“We just have to up our first approach,” he said. “It’s quite difficult playing against the same team twice because they would approach the game with a different mindset, having studied your team from the first game. We are also aware of this and are going to find ways to make improvements to our performance from our last game against them.”
The Gameday Four matchup between Rivers Hoopers and Hoops & Read will hold on Wednesday, 20th May, at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan.
