Rivers Hoopers is a Nigerian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team based in Port Harcourt, Rivers. The team plays in the

Nigerian Premier League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwind ...

. Established in 2009 as Royal Hoopers, the team has played in the Premier League since its inception. Hoopers have won the national championship four times, with titles in 2011, 2012, 2019 and 2021.

History

The club was established in 2009 as Royal Hoopers, with Ogoh Odaudu at the reins as head coach. The team won its first NPL championship in 2011. In December 2018, Hoopers played in the FIBA Africa Zone 3 Championship and won all five games to emerge as its Champions and went on to play in the 2019 Africa Basketball League in March. On 17 November 2019, the Hoopers won its third Nigerian title when it beat Raptors in the final. With this achievement, the team qualified directly for the inaugural season of

Basketball Africa League The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is Africa's premier men's basketball league. The league consists of twelve teams, each qualified through their domestic competition, similar to the format of the UEFA Champions League. The league is a joint eff ...

(BAL). To strengthen the team for the inaugural BAL season, the Hoopers acquired former NBA-player

Ben Uzoh Benjamin Chukwukelo Uzoh (born March 18, 1988) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who plays for Marinos of the Venezuelan SuperLiga. He also plays internationally for . Standing at , Uzoh has played in the NBA for the New Jer ...

and

Festus Ezeli Ifeanyi Festus Ezeli-Ndulue (born October 21, 1989) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player. He previously played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Vanderbilt before being s ...

. Ezeli, however, got injured before the season and did not join. Hoopers finished third in Group A of the BAL, beating only GNBC from Madagascar. Uzoh led the team in scoring with 14.7 points. In the 2021 season, the Hoopers won the Premier League for a fourth time after edging Gombe Bulls in the final. Anaiye Johnson was named the league's MVP. However, the Hoopers were denied to play in the BAL by

FIBA Africa FIBA Africa is a zone within the FIBA basketball association which contains all 54 national African FIBA federations. It was founded in 1961. FIBA Africa maintains offices in Cairo and in Abidjan. Members FIBA World Rankings Overview ...

, that cited the organised league was invalid.

Honours

*Champions (4): 2011, 2012,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Crown Elite Basketball Championship *Champions (1): 2022

In African competitions

FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup The FIBA Africa Basketball League (formerly named the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup) was the highest caliber men's professional basketball competition for clubs until 2020, organized by the FIBA Africa and played by the champions of the league ...

(3 appearances) * 2010 – Ninth Place * 2011 – Eleventh Place * 2018–19 – Group Stage

(1 appearance) *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

– Group Stage

Players

Current roster

The following roster was the Rivers Hoopers team in the

2021 BAL season The 2021 BAL season, also known as BAL Season 1, was the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Established as a joint effort between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA, the BAL is the highest tier continental leag ...

Notable players

* Chris Obekpa (2022) – Nigerian international and former BAL blocking leader. *

(2021) – Nigerian international and former

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

player. * Robinson Opong (2021) – Ugandan international. * Abdul Yahaya (2019–2020) – Two-time Nigerian League MVP.

Individual awards

Premier League MVP * Abdul Yahaya – 2015, 2019 * Johnson Anaiye – 2021 Premier League Final MVP * Victor Anthony Koko – 2021

References

External links

Official websiteTwitter profile
{{Basketball Africa League Basketball teams in Nigeria Sport in Port Harcourt Basketball teams established in 2009 2009 establishments in Nigeria Basketball Africa League teams