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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team based in Port Harcourt,

Rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

. 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 dwindl ...

. 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 The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

-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 Jers ...

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 Commodores men' ...

. 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 Gombe Bulls is a Nigerian professional basketball team located in Gombe State. The team competes in the Nigerian Premier League. History The team participated in the 2017 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup, which was the first time the team played i ...

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 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

– Ninth Place *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

– Eleventh Place * 2018–19 – Group Stage

(1 appearance) *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

– 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 Christopher Ewaoche Obekpa (born 14 November 1993) is a Nigerian professional basketball player who last played for the Rivers Hoopers. He played college basketball for St. John's University in Jamaica, New York from 2012 to 2015. As a freshman ...

(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 Robinson Odoch Opong (born 10 May 1989) is a Ugandan professional basketball player who last played for Rivers Hoopers of the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) and the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He also plays for the Uganda national basketball ...

(2021) – Ugandan international. *

Abdul Yahaya Abdul Yahaya (born 24 April 1990) is a Nigerian basketball player for Abidjan Basket Club and Nigeria. Professional career In 2015, Yahaya led Mark Mentors to the 2015 NPL title and emerged as the most valuable player of the competition. In Febru ...

(2019–2020) – Two-time Nigerian League MVP.

Individual awards

Premier League MVP *

– 2015, 2019 *

Johnson Anaiye Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

– 2021 Premier League Final MVP *

Victor Anthony Koko Victor Anthony Koko (born 14 December 1992) is a Nigerian basketball player who plays for Rivers Hoopers and . Standing at , he plays as center. Professional career Koko was born in Ika North East in the Nigerian Delta State. Since 2019, Koko p ...

– 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