*Rivers Hoppers Retain Title, Pick BAL Ticket
The atmosphere, Monday at the Basketball stadium in Port Harcourt, was electrifying and full of glitz and glamour, associated with top class sporting events, and that was what was on display at the 2024 NBBF Men’s Premier Basketball League final 8 championship.
Expectedly, the final 8 series which brought together, the top 4 teams in each of the Atlantic and Savannah Conferences, saw the teams fought valiantly in bids to pick the sole lucrative ticket to represent Nigeria on the continental stage at the Basketball Africa League.
After the groups matches, defending champions, Rivers Hoppers, Nile University, Hoops’N’Read and Gboko City Chiefs hit the semi-finals. And it went on to produce two Atlantic teams, as Hoops’N’ Read tackled Rivers Hoppers in the final game, with the Kingsmen retaining their title with a 71-54 win, as well as, a ticket to return to the BAL Championship, where it won the third position last year. Earlier in the day, Gboko City Chiefs had defeated Nile University, 63-60 to win the third place in a close-fought game.
Speaking during the final, President of Nigeria Basketball Federation, Engineer Ahmadu Musa Kida, expressed both his personal appreciation and that of the executive board of the NBBF, to the government and the good people of Rivers State, for once again hosting another successful NBBF Men’s Premier Basketball League Final 8 championship, for a second consecutive time.
“This is another sweet home-coming for me. Port Harcourt has always been home to me and of course, Nigeria basketball. On behalf of the Nigeria basketball stakeholders and the executive board members of the NBBF, I say, a big thank you to His Excellency, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, for his immense support and encouragement to the NBBF, and of course, to the development of sports, in the country,” Kida said.
He was equally effusive in praises for the Rivers State Commissioner of Sports, Barrister Chris Green, for also ensuring that this year’s championship went smoothly, by providing the necessary supports to the NBBF.
Speaking further, an obviously elated NBBF President, revealed that there are plans by the federation to make next year’s championship, better and bigger. He thanked the entities that submitted bids to host the finals, and encouraged them to even participate more, in other programmes that the NBBF has lined up for next year.
The finals of the championship, which was played in front of a capacity crowd, was also witnessed by top government functionaries, basketball enthusiasts and stakeholders, that included the Chairman Imo State Basketball Association, Kelechi Anosike.
