Don’t Be Carried Away By Opening Wins, Rivers Hoopers Coach Tells Players
Rivers Hoopers coach Ogoh Odaudu has urged his players not to be complacent following their impressive start at the Basketball Africa League season.
The NBBF champions have enjoyed a stunning start at the BAL League with two opening wins against Stade Malien and FUS Rabat.
The first match against Stade Malien ended 80-61. The second match was a hard-fought 88-82 win over FUS Rabat on Sunday.
The Nigerian champions are on top of the group with superior points, as they close in on the automatic playoff spot.
Odaudu has warned his players not to get carried away by their impressive start to the tournament.
He said, “We are still a work in progress. We are not where we think we are supposed to be yet. We are still working on it.
“I think the team last year was more similar to this, and we had a couple of changes that made us more lethal. I’d say we’re ready to compete this year. That was the plan from the get-go; we want to play one game at a time.”
In the 2025 edition of the BAL league, teams have been divided into three conferences of four teams each. Each conference will play a 12-game group phase, during which each team will face the other three teams in its conference twice.
The top two teams in each conference and the two third-placed teams across three conferences will qualify for the playoffs.
The playoffs are expected to take place at the Sunbet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, from June 6 to 14.
The BAL is Africa’s premier basketball competition, organised by the NBA in partnership with FIBA.
Don’t Be Carried Away By Opening Wins, Rivers Hoopers Coach Tells Players is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
