Rivers Hoopers hit century, rout Raptors to place third at Louis Edem tournament
Rivers Hoopers made amends for their semi-final loss to Spintex Knights at the third edition of the Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship, with a 34-point blowout of Lagos Raptors in the men’s third place playoff which ended 102-68 in favour of the KingsMen.
Having suffered two losses in three games after a run of 21 games unbeaten, the KingsMen sought to end their participation at the third Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship on a high note.
Hoopers started the game with real intent, with swift movement and good combination play to open up a 6-point lead at 25-19.
In a game during which everything seemed to click for Rivers Hoopers, especially offensively, the KingsMen put up another 25 points in the second quarter to stretch their lead to 18 points, as Raptors could only manage 13 points in the second. The halftime score stood at 50-32 in favour of the defending champions.
Despite making wholesome changes to the team that started the game, Rivers Hoopers continued their dominant run against the Lagos Raptors, closing out the third quarter at 25-14, and in the process becoming the first team to score 25+ points in three quarters of a match at the third edition of Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship.
At the start of the fourth, Rivers Hoopers held a 29-point lead, and barely a day after an unusual poor shooting game against Spintex Knights, the KingsMen seemed very much in their stride and were untouchable by the hapless Raptors who had no answers to the quality of the Hoopers.
Hoopers continued their game streak of 25+ points per quarter, notching 27 points against Raptors’ 22 points, to not only seal an emphatic 34-point blowout, but become the only team to score at least 25+ points in every quarter of a game, and also the first team to reach 100 points in a single game at the Last Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship
Next for the Nigerian champions is to intensify preparations ahead of the Sahara Conference of the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL).
