PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria — Rivers Hoopers tipped off their 2026 Nigeria Premier Basketball League (NPBL) Playoff campaign with an 84-71 victory over a resilient Kano Pillars squad on Sunday.
The KingsMen opened the game on a 10-0 run to set an early pace and stretched their lead to as many as 14 points before heading into halftime with an eight-point cushion.
Kano Pillars mounted a strong second-half comeback, fueled by clinical perimeter shooting from beyond the arc. Pillars narrowed the deficit to 61-60 early in the fourth quarter and pulled within two at 69-67 with just over three minutes remaining. However, Rivers Hoopers staved off the late threat, closing out the contest with a decisive 15-4 run.
“Well, I knew the first game was going to be like this; it was going to be scrappy,” Rivers Hoopers head coach Ogoh Odaudu said after the win. “All we wanted was to win because that’s the goal right now—one game at a time, just keep winning.”
John Idoga led the Hoopers with 15 points, while Abel Offia added 12. Peter Olisemeka anchored the frontcourt with a double-double, grabbing 12 rebounds to go along with 11 points, while Onyebuchi Nwaiwu chipped in 7 points and 8 boards. Hoopers bench also contributed a massive 49 points.
Despite the victory, ball protection and defensive consistency remained concerns for Odaudu’s men as the Hoopers committed 25 turnovers to Pillars’ 16, allowing Kano to rack up 14 steals and score 24 points off those giveaways.
“We gave up too many open shots, we were not putting pressure on the ball, and we gave up too many offensive rebounds. So, that’s something we need to work on and need to cut down on,” Odaudu admitted. “Like I said, it was our first game; we still got jitters and all that. But we are going to get better by tomorrow.”
Rivers Hoopers return to action on Monday for Day Two of the playoffs when they take on Lagos Raptors with jump ball set for 6pm.
Other Day Two fixtures are as follows;
Kano Pillars vs 313 Warriors (12pm)
Hoops & Read vs Maktown Flyers (2pm)
Gboko City Chiefs vs Aso Skyhawks (4pm)
All games will be played at the Basketball Stadium, 59 Niger Street, Port Harcourt Township, Rivers State.
