Rivers Hoopers basketball club of Port Harcourt coach, Ogoh Odaudu has predicted that his team will be one of two qualifiers from the ongoing zonal competition in Cotonou, Benin Republic for the FIBA Africa Club Champions Cup.
In a chat with sports247.ng on Wednesday, Odaudu stated confidently that his side will finish among the top two and qualify from the zonal level for the continental contest.
Speaking after The Hoopers’ 89-84 win against fellow-Nigerian side, Civil Defenders of Abuja, Odaudu said he was happy his boys survived the toughest game in their group.
He admitted that their next opponents, Custom Brains of Ghana, would also aim to make a mark on Wednesday, but stressed that Hoppers are in such good form at the moment, which translates into domination.
Odaudu was joined in his projections by Buchi Nwaiwu, who got a career high 35 points to lead The Hoopers past Civil Defenders.
A determined Hoopers led by Nwaiwu ensured they did enough to pick their first win of the FIBA Africa Qualifiers despite missing 7/11 of their free throws with 60 seconds remaining in the game.
Nwaiwu added six rebounds and two blocks while Victor Koko contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and six blocks to go with it.
It was Nwaiwu’s first ever 30-point game in his career helping the KingsMen overcome a resilient Defenders’ team.
Nwaiwu made 15/16 of his shots and 50% from the line in 21 minutes played for Hoopers from the bench.
Nwaiwu’s three straight jumpers in the early minutes of the third quarter stretched Hoopers’ lead to 15 points (57-42).
The two teams made 3/14 from the three point line, but Hoopers failed to convert a huge number of their free throws, shooting 24 of 53 from the line.
Defenders made a 12-0 run with 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter to reduce the deficit to 6 points (70-64).
Four Civil Defence players finished on double figures, as captain of the team Joel Ijigba led with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists.
John Iduh, Ocheibi Okpe and Joseph Alhassan also scored 11 points each while Emmanuel Ndibe had 10 points and four assists.
The Imo-born Nwaiwu described his performance against Defenders as a boost to his career, adding that he is confident Hoopers can win the FIBA Africa Zone 3 tournament.
“I feel very happy scoring this high for the first time in my career, also in an international game.
“It’s a boost to my career, and I am confident that we will win the zone three tournament.
“We have done a lot as a team to get this far despite not playing in a long league but the short time we had we were able to put it into use.”
