June 9, 2025

Matchup Spotlight: Rivers Hoopers vs APR

📅⏰: June 9 | 4PM Local
🚨 Elimination Matchup in the #theBAL!

🔥 Star Power
•⁠ ⁠Two of the Top 5 scorers left in the tourney:
o Aliou Diarra (APR): 19.2 PPG (#2) - Diarra leads league with 5.0 OREB per game which lead to 4.4 2nd Chance PTS per (#2 in league)
o Madut Akec (Rivers): 17.4 PPG (T-#3), Akec shoots 51.4% from 3PT - the league leader

*John Akec #12 of the Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club celebrates during the game against FUS de Rabat on April 6, 2025, Rabat, Morocco.*

💦 Sniper Alert
•⁠ ⁠APR’s Chasson Randle:
o 21 threes made | 3.0 per game
o T-#2 in both marks 🎯
 Only Boissy (33 and 4.1 per) has more, Randle tied with Eldridge and Hardy of USM

*Chasson Randle #2 of Armee Patriotique drives to the basket during the game against Al Ahli Tripoli during the Nile Conference group play on May 20, 2025, at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.*

🎯 Playmaking Kings
•⁠ ⁠APR’s Ntore Habimana:
o 6.3 AST/G (BAL leader left in tourney - 44 total AST (T-most))
 Cameron Parker of KRS (7.8 per) only player w/ higher avg.
•⁠ ⁠Rivers’ Kelvin Amayo:
o 6.2 AST/G (Ranked 3rd in BAL and 2 for players left (Parker))

*Ntore Habimana #15 of APR dribbles the ball during the game against MBB during the Nile Conference Group on May 18, 2025, at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.*

💪 Rebounding Battle
•⁠ ⁠League Leader Diarra (APR): 13.0 RPG (65 in 5 games)
•⁠ ⁠# 2 Ranked Peter Olisemeka (Rivers): 11.4 RPG (80 in 7 games)

*Peter Olisemeka #14 of the Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club dunks the ball during the game against the Al Ittihad Alexandria during the Basketball Africa League game on April 8, 2025, Rabat, Morocco.*

🛡 Paint Protection Showdown
•⁠ ⁠Rivers: BAL-best 39.4 PPG in the paint
•⁠ ⁠Diarra:
o 4.6 BLK/G (#1)
o 13.2 +/- (#3)
o Can Diarra slow down PTS by Rivers near the basket?

*Aliou Diarra #10 of APR dunks the ball during the game against Petro de Luanda during the 2025 Basketball Africa League Playoffs on June 7, 2025, at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, Tshwane.*

📊 Team Breakdown
•⁠ ⁠PPG: APR (86.4 – #3) | Rivers (80.7 – #5)
•⁠ ⁠OPPG: Rivers (79.3 – #5) | APR (80.7 – #6)
•⁠ ⁠Scoring Diff: APR +5.7 (#4) | Rivers +1.4 (#6)
•⁠ ⁠APG: Rivers (22.9 – (#1) | APR (22.1 – #4)

*Shamba Maxi Munanga #11 high fives Raphael Putney #24 of the Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club during the game against the Stade Malien on April 5, 2025, Rabat, Morocco.*

👀 Watch Out!
•⁠ ⁠Rivers: 11.0 steals/game (#2 in BAL)
•⁠ ⁠Rivers: 20.0 FBPTS per game (#6) compared to just 16.0 per for APR (#9).