Nigeria’s representatives at the 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL), Rivers Hoopers will face Senegal’s AS Douanes in one of the four seeding games in the playoffs, following the adoption of a new format.
The match between Rivers Hoopers and AS Douanes follows their previous encounters in the Sahara Conference held last week in Dakar.
This marks a departure from the former Basketball Africa League format. Now, teams are paired based on their overall performance across all three conferences in this season’s playoffs, rather than advancing straight to the knockout stage (quarterfinals).
Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers, champions of the Sahara Conference, currently occupy the third position in the overall standings. They trail behind FUS Rabat of Morocco, champions of the Kalahari Conference, in second place, and Al Ahly of Egypt, winners of the Nile Conference, who lead the standings.
AS Douanes secured the fourth spot in the rankings, followed by Petro de Luanda (5th), US Monastir (6th), Al Ahly Libya (7th), and Cape Town Tigers (8th).
READ MORE: BAL playoffs: Nigeria’s reps clinch ticket as Savannah Conference champions
The outcome of the match between Rivers Hoopers and AS Douanes (Game 40) will determine their opponents in the quarterfinals.
The victorious side will face the winner between Petro de Luanda and US Monastir (Game 39), while the loser will confront the loser of Game 39 in the quarterfinal.
In addition to the Rivers Hoopers’ fixture against AS Douanes, other seeding games include clashes between Al Ahly and FUS Rabat, Petro de Luanda and US Monastir, and Al Ahly Libya and Cape Town Tigers.
Scheduled for 24-25 May, the seeding games will precede the quarterfinals, which are set to commence on Sunday, 26th May at the BK Arena in Kigali.
As Rivers Hoopers continue their preparations for the playoffs, they are expected to depart for Kigali later this weekend.
