Rivers Hoopers Survive Gboko City Chiefs in PBL Final Four

Host Rivers Hoopers began their quest for a fifth Premier Basketball League title in the Final Four with a nervy 67-62 win over Gboko City Chiefs on Thursday in Port Harcourt.

To the delight of the home crowd, KingsMen started off with a dominant 20-6 lead against the Chiefs in first quarter.

However, things took a drastic turn as the Chiefs stepped up the tempo in the second quarter while Rivers Hoopers struggled to maintain their rhythm and committing excessive fouls.

Gboko City Chiefs poured in 15 points, while Hoopers could only manage 9.

The intensity during the third quarter grew as both teams scored the highest points per quarter, with the KingsMen edging the Chiefs 25-23 to open up a 10-point going into the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, Hoopers fell prey to foul troubles and Gboko City Chiefs outscored the home team closing their gap by four points with less than a minute on the clock.

The team from Benue took the fourth quarter 18-13, but it was Rivers Hoopers who emerged victorious overall, thanks to their healthy halftime lead.

Meanwhile the other game saw Nigeria Customs come from behind to get the best of Hoops and Read with a 65-57 win.

Hoops & Read took the first quarter  14–12 in a closely contested encounter.

An entertaining second quarter still saw Hoops narrowly outscoring Customs 23-20 to head into the break with a 5-point advantage.

However, Customs showed resilience in the third quarter as they rallied to recover from the deficit with a point as they won the quarter 18–17.

Customs  dominated the fourth quarter 15-3 to seal victory in the first game of the Final Four.

Next round of games see Rivers Hoopers take on Hoops & Read on Friday, while Gboko City Chiefs will seek revenge against Nigeria Customs having lost to them in the Savannah Conference.