Defending champions, Rivers Hoopers fell to a 64-52 defeat against Ghana’s Spintex Knights in the second semi-final game at the ongoing Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship last Friday.
In a game that was a rematch of last year’s final, Ghana’s Spintex Knights knew only a near-perfect display would see them avenge their loss against the KingsMen in the final match of the last edition.
The Knights started brightly, taking the game to the KingsMen and finishing the first quarter with a 7-point lead at 22-15.
The second quarter was an even contest, with both teams going toe-to-toe and squaring up against each other, with the Knights just about edging the KingsMen by a point (15-14) to go into halftime with an 8-point advantage at 37-29.
In the third quarter, Rivers Hoopers went on a surging run, cutting the deficit down to 4 points, but the Spintex Knights would not lay low and continued to contest all balls.
Rivers Hoopers took the third 19-18 to make it a 7-point game heading into the fourth quarter.
There was huge controversy in the fourth quarter as the game officials missed a terrible foul on Hoopers forward Michael Daramola, which ruled him out of the game, drawing the ire of the Hoopers bench.
Things continued to remain tight in the fourth, but the KingsMen failed to convert a couple of free throws to narrow the deficit.
In an unusual display of poor shooting, Rivers Hoopers missed a total of fourteen free throws during the entire duration of the game and made 4/24 from the deep.
Buchi Nwaiwu led four players in double figures; he was one rebound shy of a double-double as he shot 19 points and 9 rebounds, Michael Oriakhi added 11 while Ifeanyi Koko and Michael Daramola scored 10 points apiece.
The Spintex Knights, who edged Rivers Hoopers 17-16 in the fourth quarter, will face Hoops & Read in the final match by 4 p.m. on Saturday, while Rivers Hoopers will play against Lagos Raptors in the third-place game at 10 a.m.