Rivers Hoopers Qualify for BAL Playoffs Again

For the second year in a row, Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers have qualified for the Playoffs of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The Playoffs will take place in Pretoria, South Africa, from 6 to 14 June.

Rivers Hoopers beat FUS Rabat 79-71 on Thursday night, taking their record to three wins and one loss in the Kalahari Conference.

With two games left, the Hoopers are second on the table behind Al-Ittihad of Egypt, who are unbeaten with four wins.

FUS Rabat sit in third place with one win and three losses, while Stade Malien are yet to win a game with a 0-4 record. Rivers Hoopers will face Al-Ittihad next, while FUS and Stade Malien will fight for third place.

Rivers Hoopers coach Ogoh Odaudu said he was happy his team reached the 2025 BAL Playoffs early.

“It feels really good to qualify for the finals again. It’s the highest stage of basketball in Africa, and every team wants to be there. I’m really happy we’ve made it. We’ll take a little time to celebrate,” he said.

Coach Odaudu added that the team’s goal from the start was to reach the Playoffs, but now they want more.

“We finished third last year. Now we want to do better. Everyone has supported us and pushed us forward. We’re aiming to go a step further this time.”

“Right now we’re enjoying our win from last night, but we’ll get back to training this evening,” he added.

Rivers Hoopers will play their next match against Egyptian champions Al-Ittihad on Saturday at 4pm WAT.