Reigning Nigerian Champions, Rivers Hoopers made a bold statement of intent as they got their 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) campaign off to a good start by earning a hard-fought 77-68 victory over 2023 BAL runners-up AS Douanes at the Dakar Arena, Senegal, on Saturday.
The KingsMen, who came into the game with a 1-2 (win-lose) record from their previous appearance at the inaugural edition of the BAL, knew they had to fight hard and compete against the home team, who went all the way to the final at last year’s edition of Africa’s Premier Club Basketball Championship.
AS Douanes were first on the scoreboard when they made one of two free throws inside the first minute of action, but Rivers Hoopers responded almost immediately with Will Perry burying a 3-point shot to show the KingsMen’s intent.
However, the game slowly drifted in favour of the AS Douanes, who were buoyed by a raucous home support to take a 5-point lead, closing out the first quarter 23-18.
AS Douanes opened up a 14-point lead as Rivers Hoopers suffered a poor scoring run inside the first 5 minutes of the second quarter.
But as the game progressed, the KingsMen continued to slowly find their rhythm, and with the introduction of captain Victor Koko, the KingsMen outscored AS Douanes 19-16 in the second quarter to cut the deficit to two points, with the scores at 39-37 heading into the halftime break.
The opening two minutes of the third quarter was rocky, until D’Tigers forward Devine Eke showed great athleticism, driving inside the perimeter to make a tough layup, drawing contact in the process. From then on, there was no stopping Eke and the KingsMen, as the mercurial 27-year-old tied the scores at 42 points apiece from the free throw line and also scored the points that put Rivers Hoopers in the driver’s seat.
With a combination of good defense and a good scoring run, the KingsMen fashioned a remarkable turnaround, outscoring AS Douanes 19-9 in the third quarter to take an 8-point lead, heading into the fourth quarter with the scores at 56-48 in their favour.
The KingsMen continued to ride on the wave of their newfound confidence and squared up brilliantly to AS Douanes, unfazed by the massive home support, and had answers for every question asked, closing out the game with a 9-point lead for a famous 77-68 victory over last year’s runners-up.
Devine Eke was named as the game’s top performer, as he finished with a double-double of a game-high 31 points, along with 12 rebounds and 3 assists. Will Perry added 15 points for the KingsMen, with John Wilkins putting up 14, while Peter Olisemeka put up double digits on rebounds with 10, and Kelvin Amayo led the assist chart with a game-high 8 assists.
In the opening game, Rwandan champions APR defeated former champions US Monastir 89-84 to record the first game of the season and second in BAL history to go into overtime.
Obadiah and Adonis Filer finished with a game-high of 24 points each, Mpoyo added 15 points and Dario Hunt contributed 10.
The defeat means the Tunisian champions start their BAL season 4 campaign just like they did in their Sahara Conference game of last season at the Dakar Arena.
Up next for Hoopers is against APR of Rwanda while US Monastir face hosts AS Douanes.
