Nigerian Champions, Rivers Hoopers, made it three out of three at the ongoing Sahara Conference of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) with a commanding 21-point blowout of former BAL Champions US Monastir, as the KingsMen ran out with an 84-63 victory on Tuesday.
After much-needed rest last Monday, Rivers Hoopers, who had been impressive by notching up consecutive victories over Senegal’s AS Douanes and Rwanda’s APR, started the game in rampant form, making back-to-back buckets, including consecutive threes by Will Perry.
Hoopers opened up a 12-point lead at 14-2 inside the first five minutes of the encounter and remained prolific in shooting to wrap up the first quarter with a 9-point advantage at 25-16.
Again, the Hoopers were quickest out of the block at the start of the second quarter, scoring points early to extend their lead, including a brilliant alley-oop finished off by BAL Elevate player David Ike from a fine Kelvin Amayo pass.
Amayo proved to be unplayable on the day, firing three straight 3s in the final four minutes of the second quarter to give the Kings Men a massive 20-point advantage with the scores 49-29 at halftime.
US Monastir, who had inflicted defeat on Rivers Hoopers when both teams met during the inaugural BAL season, came out desperately needing to reduce the deficit at the start of the third quarter and enjoyed a good scoring spell. But Hoopers were undeterred and responded with some big shots of their own, including a poster dunk by Kelvin Amayo with 2:30 left, as the scores stood at 67-51 to end the third quarter.
Amayo stayed hot, scoring more big points during the fourth to take his tally to 30 points, as the KingsMen completed a dominant performance to swat aside US Monastir by 21 points.
The win was a third straight victory for Rivers Hoopers, who remain the only unbeaten side at the Sahara Conference of the BAL season 4.
Hoopers were spurred by a massive game-high 30 points and 9 assists from Kelvin Amayo which earned him the game’s MVP award. Amayo fired home six 3-pointers, also a game-high figure.
The Hoopers trio of Will Perry, Peter Olisemeka, and Devine Eke also reached double figures in scoring, with Perry putting up 19 points along with 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Olisemeka had 13 points and 9 rebounds, and Devine Eke posted a double-double of 13 points plus a massive game-high 12 rebounds.
The Rivers Hoopers bench also came up big, with the quintet of captain Victor Koko, BAL Elevate player David Ike, Abel Offia, Onyebuchi Vincent, and Anaiye Johnson combining for 9 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
The result means the KingsMen remain top of the Sahara Conference standings as they head into Game 4 against AS Douanes, on Thursday, 9th May, by 8pm.