Rivers Hoopers Head Coach Ogoh Odaudu offered a frank assessment after watching his team fall to US Monastir 89-81 in their final Basketball Africa League (BAL) seeding game on Saturday.
After seeing his team match the firepower of their opponents in the first two quarters, the KingsMen as Rivers Hoopers are fondly called, capitulated in the second half.
“Well, I think it’s [due to] a loss of concentration. We were up there in the first two quarters and then in the 3rd quarter everything broke down. We’re happy it happened in a game that was just a seeding game,” Odaudu said after the game.
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Despite the defeat, the reigning BAL Season Four Coach of the Year remained optimistic about his team’s prospects as they head into the quarterfinals.
“We didn’t want this to happen in the quarterfinals. So it gives us the opportunity to go back and try to clean it up tomorrow (Sunday) before we come back for the quarterfinals on Monday. But in all, I think we played a very good game and except for that break in the 3rd quarter I’m impressed with what they did,” he added.
The loss came despite a brilliant performance from Rahpiael Putney, who poured in a BAL career-high 28 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the charge for the Nigerian champions.
The game began with high energy, as both teams exchanged leads nine times in a fiercely contested first quarter. Putney scored 10 points in the opening period, helping Rivers Hoopers edge ahead 16-14 after Madut Akec hit a three-pointer just before the buzzer.
The KingsMen extended their advantage in the second quarter. Ahmed Doumbia delivered a quick seven-point burst to push the lead to 27-21.
A fast break involving Michael Okiki and Akec produced one of the standout plays of the first half, with Rivers Hoopers taking a 36-32 lead into the break.
Putney remained unstoppable early in the third quarter, drilling back-to-back three-pointers to give Rivers Hoopers a nine-point cushion. But Monastir’s bench came alive.
Contributions from Andrew Edogi, Patrick Hardy Jr., and Osiris Eldridge quickly erased the deficit and helped Monastir seize a four-point lead by the end of the quarter.
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Monastir’s bench outscored Rivers Hoopers’ reserves by a wide margin — 41 points to 19 — a decisive factor in the game’s outcome.
In the final quarter, BAL Elevate star Babacar Sane took control for Monastir, driving the 2022 champions to a commanding 13-point lead.
Doumbia provided a late highlight for Rivers Hoopers with a deep, buzzer-beating three-pointer to cut the gap to eight points, but Monastir comfortably held on for the 89-81 win.
Peter Olisemeka recorded Rivers Hoopers’ only double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Akec added 15 points as the only other KingsMen player in double figures.
The result sets up a quarterfinal clash between Rivers Hoopers and Rwanda’s APR on Monday, 9 June.
US Monastir, meanwhile, will face defending champions Petro de Luanda.
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