BAL: Rivers Hoopers Face Familiar Foe in Seeding Game

2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Bronze-medallists, Rivers Hoopers, will face Tunisia’s US Monastir in their first game of the Basketball Africa League Playoffs on Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Pretoria South Africa.

The clash, which serves as a determiner for the playoff bracket match-ups and seeding for the single-elimination playoffs, would be the fifth meeting between both sides.

Having won and lost two a piece, US Monastir is the most faced opponent by the Port Harcourt-based side, behind AS Douanes with three, and APR with two.

On course to secure their third-place finish at the 2024 BAL, Rivers Hoopers and US Monastir met thrice in the Sahara Conference which saw the wins shared one apiece, and the third in the quarterfinals. The quarter-final was the last time both sides went head to head, with Rivers Hoopers coming out on top, with a 92-88 victory, ending US Monastir’s run in the 2024 BAL Playoffs, and booking themselves a ticket to the semifinals.

The Tunisian side dealt Rivers Hoopers a loss in their first-ever meeting during the Group phase of the inaugural edition of the competition. According to the Playoffs Team Ranking, the Port Harcourt-based side who have made consecutive Playoffs appearances by finishing second in the Kalahari Conference with a 4-2 record, were ranked fourth. While nine-time Tunisian champions, US Monastir who topped the Sahara Conference standings, also with a 4-2 record, were ranked third.

Rivers Hoopers’ final roster ahead of the playoffs features two new faces, Ahmed Doumbia and Chingka Garba. Ahmed Doumbia is an experienced combo guard who plays for the Guinea national team and helped his team qualify for the 2025 Afrobasket. He has also played for various clubs in France. Chingka Garba plays for Rwandan outfit Orion Basketball Club, he was part of the Gboko City Chiefs team that competed in the NBBF league last year.

The full squad features Nigerian Canadian star Kelvin Amayo, who averaged 6.6 assists per game during the Kalahari Conference qualifiers. Also included are Congo DR national team captain Maxi Shamba, who joined the squad in March, D’Tigers standout Michael Okiki, along with fellow Nigerians Abel Offia and Ahmed Doumbia from Guinea.

In the centre position, Peter Olisemeka leads the group, having topped the rebounds chart during the qualifiers with an average of 11.0 rebounds per game. He is followed by Samuel Sani, David Ike, and Chingka Garba, who was recruited from the Rwandan side Orion Basketball Club.Leading the forwards is South Sudan superstar Madut Akec, who excelled as the scoring leader during the qualifiers, averaging 17.8 points per game.

The forward positions also include Ifeanyi Koko Jr., Buchi Nwaiwu, and 35-year-old American Raphiael Putney.

Ahead of the clash, Kelvin Amayo who averaged 16 points, 6.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game during the 2024 BAL season, sent his congratulations to US Monastir for securing their place in the playoffs and also spoke confidently about the clash.

“I just want to say congratulations to US Monastir. I watched them in the Sahara Conference, and they played exceptionally well. They are definitely not the same team this year as they were last year. We’ve added key pieces, and with our experience from last year, we’re in a great position to go all the way. We are going to showcase a high level of intensity on the defensive end.”