Premier Basketball League: Hoopers Win In Asaba, Return To Top 

Rivers Hoopers majestically returned to the summit of the Kwese Premier Basketball League Atlantic Conference after they out-rebounded Delta Force in a 74-79 win at the Asaba Township Stadium, Delta State on Thursday.
Emmanuel Balogun scored 14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals, Ronald Alalibo added 13 points and 7 rebounds while Buchi Nwaiwu made his first double digit of the season scoring 10 points and 2 blocked shots.
It took until well into the third quarter for the KingsMen to establish their dominance. The first half was a very close game as they were forced to commit 14 turnovers before the half time break, with 4 lead changes and game tied 4 times.
In all, Hoopers suffered a total of 32 turnovers, 14 more than their opponents, but made 47 rebounds, scoring 7 of their 21 three points shots with three of the 7 from Alalibo in the second half.
Kevin Ikhalo finished with a game high 23 points and 6 rebounds for Delta Force and Ibrahim Oyebamiji added 12 points and 5 steals while Philip Nwosu contributed 10 points and 6 steals for the Asaba-based side.
Despite a late rally by Force in the last quarter (25-17), Hoopers held on to leapfrog Kwara Falcons on top of the Atlantic conference after the Ilorin-based side lost earlier in the day to Oluyole Warriors in Ibadan.
The KingsMen have now won four games in a row since the emphatic loss to Falcons on May 25 in Ilorin.
Rivers Hoopers coach, Ogoh Odaudu expressed his excitement after the win.
“It was a good game. The most important thing is that we won the game even though we didn’t play to the level we were supposed to play.”