Friday, May 31
Rivers Hoopers 80-57 Cape Town Tigers
Nigeria's Rivers Hoopers clinched the third-place at the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season 4 after they outclassed Cape Town Tigers 80-57 on Friday, May 31 at BK Arena.
The Nigerian champions led from the opening jump ball and went on to lead by as many as 28 points to close their 2024 BAL season with a 6-4 mark.
On the day when Hoopers' Ogoh Odaudu won the 2024 BAL coach of the Year award, Kelvin Amayo and Devine Eke combined for 45 points to end their season the same way they started, with another win.
ALSO READ: BAL: What you need to know as Cape Town Tigers and Rivers Hoopers vie for third place
Cape Town Tigers, who played without their two leading scorers Carter Diarra and Samkelo Cele, due to injuries, concluded the 2024 BAL season with a 2-6 mark.
The South African champions looked nothing like the team that caused the biggest upset of the season by knocking out top-seeded FUS Rabat in the quarter-finals.
The Tigers’ 6 assists, 20 turnovers, and poor three-point shooting (5-for-32) made things difficult for Flosh Ngwenya’s men. And making half of their free-throws (10-for-20) only made things difficult for the Tigers who chased their first BAL podium finish.
Dhieu Deng and Ngor Manyang, the only Cape Town Tigers players to score in double digits, finished with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
TAGS: BAL.