NBBF Final 4: Rivers Hoopers Scrape Past Gboko City Chiefs, As Nigeria Customs Extend Winning Streak

NBBF Final 4: Rivers Hoopers Scrape Past Gboko City Chiefs, As Nigeria Customs Extend Winning Streak 

Precious Oham

Rivers Hoopers began their Premier Basketball League Final Four campaign with a nervy 67-62 win over Gboko City Chiefs on Thursday in Port Harcourt, BSNSports.com.ng reports. 

The KingsMen started off the blocks in the first quarter with complete dominance to lead the Chiefs 20-6 much to the delight of a raucous home crowd.

However, things took a drastic turn in the second quarter as the Chiefs stepped up the tempo while Rivers Hoopers struggled to maintain their rhythm and ran into too many foul troubles. Gboko City Chiefs poured in 15 points, while Hoopers could only manage 9.

The game grew in intensity during the third quarter as both teams fought for every ball and scored the highest points per quarter, as the KingsMen edged the Chief 25-23 to open up a 10-point lead heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter provided a fitting end to the game as yet again Hoopers fell prey to foul troubles and the Gboko City Chiefs outscored the home team to close the gap to four points with less than a minute on the clock.

Gboko City Chiefs went on to take the fourth quarter 18-13, but it was Rivers Hoopers who emerged victorious overall, thanks to their healthy halftime lead and good game management in the final moments of the encounter.

In the other game, Nigeria Customs got the better of Hoops and Read with a 65-57 win.

The game started with Hoops & Read getting the first bucket in the first quarter. They continued to push the Nigeria Customs, though they went back and forth, but eventually ended 14–12 in favor of Hoops. 

Both teams stepped up their efforts in the second quarter as the players got into the groove in a more entertaining second quarter, with Hoops outscoring Customs 23-20 to head into the break with a 5-point advantage. 

The Customs seemed to have lost steam during the break, and Hoops & Read opened up a 13-point lead in the first few minutes of the third quarter to take control of the game.

However, Customs showed resilience as they rallied to recover from the deficit and took the third quarter 18–17.

Customs then tapped into their wealth of experience to completely dominate the fourth quarter (15-3) and seal victory in the first game of the Final Four. 

Rivers Hoopers will hope for an improved performance when they take on Hoops & Read in their second game on Friday while Gboko City Chiefs will seek revenge against Nigeria Customs having lost to the same team in the Savannah Conference.