Rivers Hoopers began their 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) marketing campaign in type, beating Stade Malien of Mali 81-60 within the opening recreation of the Kalahari Convention.
The match, performed on April 5 on the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports activities Advanced in Rabat, Morocco, was the primary BAL recreation ever hosted within the Moroccan capital.
The Nigerian aspect, who completed third within the 2024 season, regarded sharp and well-prepared. Canadian-Nigerian guard Kelvin Amayo led the staff with 19 factors, thrilling the group with highly effective dunks and incomes the Participant of the Recreation award.
South Sudanese ahead Madut Akec additionally impressed, scoring 16 factors and grabbing 11 rebounds. Raphael Putney added 14 factors, Maxi Shamba scored 11, whereas Peter Olisemeka completed with 9 factors and 12 rebounds.
Rivers Hoopers took full benefit of their opponents’ errors, scoring from quick breaks and turnovers. Stade Malien, a membership with a protracted historical past in African basketball, couldn’t sustain with the Hoopers’ tempo and vitality.
The win is a robust begin for the Hoopers, who’re aiming to transcend final 12 months’s efficiency and attain the BAL last, which is able to happen in South Africa in June.
Followers have been excited on social media, particularly on X, as they praised the staff’s sturdy efficiency and Amayo’s management. Rivers Hoopers will subsequent face Egypt’s Al Ittihad and Morocco’s FUS Rabat within the Kalahari Convention.
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