Rivers Hoopers survive the tide, defeat FUS Rabat to go 2-0

Rivers Hoopers survive the tide, defeat FUS Rabat to go 2-0 this year

FUS Rabat came into the game ready to give their home fans a show and make up for the loss against Al Ittihad while Rivers Hoopers were trying to add to their winning tally and remain unbeaten.

The game got off to a good start with both teams putting on a show early. The Ivorian Nisre Zouzoua opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. Before Raphael Putney took over for 7 straight points for Rivers Hoopers. He proved to be a handful for this Rabat-based team but their woes continued as Peter Olisemeka took the baton and scored 4 points but it was all about Madut Akec who scored 11 points in the first quarter, 9 of them from beyond the arc. FUS seemed just a pace behind as John Jordan had a sluggish start. However, they managed to keep Kelvin Amayo from recording a single point in the first quarter. The quarter went in favor of Rivers Hoopers with a 23-17 score line at the end of the first quarter.

Michael Afuwape started the quarter with 4 straight points for Rivers Hoopers before Madut Akec chirped in. However, the sleeping beast, Kelvin Amayo, came to life when he made 2 deep threes late in the shot clock in back-to-back possessions to rescue his team from bad offensive runs. He ended the quarter with 11 points and seemed to deflate the hopes of all the home fans every time he got the ball.

Despite this, FUS showed that their team cohesion was going to pay off as they started to click. They found their rhythm defensively which led to some fast breaks and when they ran their set-offense, they were able to get offensive rebounds. However, they still trailed by 8 at the end of the half with the score at 50-42.

The third quarter was a different ball game as FUS came out to play. They began to dominate in the paint behind the efforts of their captain Abdelhakim Zouita and Badr Azouga. They forced Rivers Hoopers into turnovers, bad shots and shot-clock violations. This translated in the way they ran in transition and took the lead for the first time since the first minute of the game. Azouga and Zouita scored 8 points apiece in the quarter while grabbing big rebounds and putting Rivers Hoopers under foul trouble with their forwards. They were able to turn around an 8-point deficit at the half to lead by 2 at the end of the third quarter with the score at 67-65.

Both teams decided to up the ante and there was very little to separate the two teams as they traded baskets and had many lead changes. Azouga started this quarter the same way he ended the last with a huge 3-pointer to give FUS a 72-69 lead. Maxi Shamba, the veteran point guard from Congo who controlled the game for Rivers Hoopers, made a big time 3-point shot to restore the lead for his team. Nisre Zouzoua who had been consistent with his offensive contribution throughout the game continued to do so in the fourth from all kinds of spots.

However, the biggest turning point of the game came when FUS lost composure and began to rush shots and go for individual glory instead of team success which kept them in the game. This led the way for Kelvin Amayo and Raphael Putney to rock the rim a few times in transition. FUS seemed to be completely deflated as Rivers Hoopers took an 8-point lead with 47 seconds left. Rivers Hoopers rode it out to win 88-82 and go 2-0 this season while FUS remain winless.

Nisre Zouzoua had 21 points while his teammate John Jordan had a game-high of 11 assists but that was not enough for the win as Madut Akec led all scorers with 25 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. He had the help of teammates, Kelvin Amayo with 23 points and Peter Olisemeka who had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Amayo had the following to say about the momentum shift and his new teammates:

They [FUS Rabat] had the momentum in the third just like we did in the first and second quarter. It’s a game of runs and we came in and made some runs, big runs. [..]Every time I am in this competition, I just show heart. It does not matter who I’m playing with

The Nigerian side will now prepare for their matchup with Al Ittihad on Tuesday. A game with great anticipation as both teams are unbeaten so far in the competition.

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[Imagery and Photography Courtesy of BAL]