Rivers Hoopers rounded off an unbeaten Final Four campaign with a dramatic 92-90 overtime win over Maktown Flyers at the Basketball Stadium on Niger Street, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday. The victory came two days after the KingsMen clinched their seventh Nigeria Premier Basketball League title with a game to spare, an 88-76 defeat of Gboko City Chiefs last Monday.
Regulation ended level after neither side could pull clear, before the hosts held their nerve in overtime to complete a clean run through the Final Four. Hoopers had arrived at the tournament as Final Eight winners with a 6-1 record, level on wins with Maktown, who settled for second on points difference.
The result also answered last season's loss to the same opponent. Maktown, then competing as Lagos Legends, edged the 2025 final 74-72, a defeat the Port Harcourt side had carried into this campaign. Supporters' group spokesperson Afiemo Obaro said the latest win tasted like redemption, calling it a deserving return to the Basketball Africa League.
Head coach Ogoh Odaudu said his players would first savour the championship before turning to the continental stage. The title books Rivers Hoopers a place in the 2027 BAL, returning the club to the competition after a one-year absence. The club held a thanksgiving service in Port Harcourt on Sunday.
