Rivers Hoopers kicked off their campaign in the fifth season of the Basketball Africa League Finals at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, with an 89-81 defeat against Tunisian outfit US Monastir in a seeding fixture on Saturday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The KingsMen, who were ranked as the fourth-best team heading into the competition, went up against the third-seeded Monastir in what was the fifth meeting between both franchises in BAL history, with the previous four clashes evenly split at two wins apiece.
The Port Harcourt-based outfit narrowly edged the opening quarter 16-14, having made 14 field goal attempts and shooting 35.7 per cent field goals, but their turnovers stood at four compared to the three made by the Tunisian outfit.
The second quarter saw the coach Ogah Odaudu-led side also nick it via a 20-18 scoreline. This time, the Hoopers made 28 field goal attempts but could only manage to shoot 28.6 per cent field goals and made just one turnover compared to a whopping eight committed by US Monastir. Both teams went into the half-time break with the Hoopers holding a 36-32 lead.
Upon resumption of the third quarter, things took a downward turn for the Nigerian champions, as Monastir came out firing on all cylinders. The nine-time Tunisian champions shot a whopping 60 per cent field goals from 15 field goal attempts made to turn the tide. By the end of the third quarter, the scores stood at 66-62 in Monastir’s favour. The fourth quarter also went the same way as the third, with Monastir edging it 23-19 to finish the game with an 89-81 scoreline win.
Despite the defeat, Hoopers forward Raphiael Putney finished with a game-high 28 points and seven rebounds. The 35-year-old American also registered one assist and made one steal, while teammate Madut Akec put up 15 points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals. Peter Olisemeka, 33, completed the trio of Hoopers players who ended up delivering double-figure hauls as regards points scored when he ended the game with 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Monastir, on the other hand, had five players who registered double digits in points, with Senegalese forward Babacar Sane putting up 22 points and four rebounds, 27-year-old American Patrick Hardy scored 17 points and recorded nine assists. Tarekeyi Edogi added 11 points and eight rebounds while Firas Lahyani and Osiris Eldridge put up 11 and 10 points respectively to seal the victory.
The victory sees Monastir pick up the seeding placement ahead of the BAL quarter-finals, which starts on Monday. The Hoopers will be looking to respond when next they take to the court.
