Rivers Hoopers of Port Harcourt have won the 2023 edition of the NBBF Premier League after defeating Nigeria Customs by 77 to 57 points in the final game of the league played on its home court, to earn the passage to Africa’s biggest basketball championship in 2024. They ended the competition with an unblemished record after 13 games. Before the final game, three teams, including Gboko City Chiefs, Nigeria Customs and Rivers Hoopers had mathematical chance pf winning the title. Gboko City Chiefs had beaten Hoops & Read 80 to 70 points to climb to the top of the league standings. But the Kingsmen, as Rivers Hoopers are also known, knew what they had to do to become champions. They went 14 to four points ahead inside the first five minutes of play in the first quarter, eventually seeing out the quarter 21-12. They maintained the tempo as they took control of the game to finish the second quarter 38-27, and went into the halftime break with an 11-point lead. The hosts had suffered a spectacular collapse in the third quarter during their previous games against Gboko City Chiefs and Hoops & Read, but with the league title and Basketball Africa ticket closer than ever, they were able to break their third quarter hoodoo as they dominated play to end the quarter 59-47. The fourth quarter saw Customs come out fighting but for every question asked Rivers Hoopers had a fitting answer as the KingsMen took Customs to the cleaners with a 16-5 run in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter which finished 18-10 and the Rivers Hoopers held to wrap up a 20-point blowout. The result sparked immediate jubilations as the vociferous home crowd who had shown tremendous support for the Hoopers throughout the Final Four tournament struggled to hold back their emotions. Speaking after the game, Rivers Hoopers’ captain, Victor Anthony Koko, who contributed a game high 23 points, nine rebounds, with 10/13 shooting from the field and 3/3 from free throws on a night Hoopers enjoyed a 72.7 per cent conversion rate from the line, attributed their success to hard work and determination of the boys to excel at the championship. He said the victory was a collective effort, adding that next on the line is to plan for a successful outing at the 2024 BAL. The teams attention now shifts to the continental showpiece, where they’ll be looking to become the first Nigerian side to with the BAL title.