Rivers Hoopers basketball team on Monday defeated Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) 85-76 to secure a ticket to the final match of the ongoing 2021 Super Eight men’s premier Basketball League.

In the first semi final match played at the package B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja saw Nigeria Custom winning the first two quarters by 15-11 and 24-22.

Rivers Hoopers bounced back to take the lead in the last two quarters by 29-15 and 23-22 to win the match and have a final score of 85-76.

The Port Harcourt based team will meet the winner of the second semi final between Kano Pillars and Gombe Bulls in the final match.

Nigeria Custom will square up in the third place match against the loser of the second semi final.  Both the third place match and the final will be played on Tuesday.

Speaking after the match, the coach of Rivers Hoopers, Ogoh Odaudu, told Journalists that he was not scared of any team.

“We played a quality team today and we won the game, we are not scared of whoever we are meeting in the final match.

“Our target now is the Basketball Africa league (BAL) and we need to fortify the team,” he said.

On his part, the coach of Nigeria Custom said he lost because his opponent Rivers Hoopers had more personnel on the bench.

“We don’t have more personnel because some of my key players were removed from the team.

“This is the semi final, we still have the third match to play tomorrow, we are looking forward to playing the loser of the next match.

“We did not train enough for this championship and everytime we play your players improve,” he said.

The eight participating teams in the Super 8 Men’s Premier Basketball League are divided into Atlantic Conference and Savannah Conference.

The Atlantic Conference teams are: Rivers Hoppers, Kwara Falcons, Lagos Islanders and Police Batons.

Savannah Conference teams are Kano Pillars, Gombe Bulls, Nigeria Customs and Benue Braves.

The winner of the league will represent Nigeria at the 2021 Basketball Africa League (BAL), scheduled to be held later in the year.

The 2021 Super 8 Men’s Premier Basketball League is organised by the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development due to the crisis in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).

The competition which started on November 12 is expected to end on November 16 

(NAN)