Basketball: APR Dominates Hoopers, Reaches BAL Semifinals

APR Basketball Club delivered a commanding performance on Monday night, defeating Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers 104–73 to advance to the semifinals of the 2025 Basketball Africa League (BAL) at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria.

The win marks a historic milestone as APR becomes just the second Rwandan team to reach the BAL semifinals, following in the footsteps of the Patriots Basketball Club, who achieved the feat during the league’s inaugural season in 2021.

From tip-off to the final buzzer, APR dominated both ends of the court, never trailing in the contest and securing the largest winning margin of the 2025 playoffs. The Rwandan champions now face Libya’s Al Ahli Tripoli in Wednesday’s semifinal.

Defensive Masterclass

Power forward Peter Olisemeka of Rivers Hoopers credited APR’s relentless defense for the outcome.

“They kept us far from the paint. We couldn’t get the ball inside,” said Olisemeka, who recorded six points and seven rebounds. “Kudos to them for playing such good defense with so much energy. We tried, but we missed many opportunities.”

APR’s defense forced the Hoopers to exhaust the shot clock on multiple possessions early in the game and limited their paint scoring with a physical, congested interior.

At halftime, APR had already built a 25-point cushion, leading 57–32. Their defensive intensity did not wane in the second half, and their lead grew to as much as 30 points (74–44), leaving visible frustration on the Hoopers’ bench.

Balanced Scoring, Sharp Shooting

Nuni Omot led APR with 21 points, while Aliou Diarra notched his fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Former NBA guard Chasson Randle added 15 points.

APR shot 50% from beyond the arc, converting 11 of 22 three-point attempts. In contrast, the Rivers Hoopers struggled, hitting just 7 of 30 attempts from deep.

Madut Akec led the Hoopers with 21 points, and Raphael Putney added 12 points—all from three-point range.

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