Rivers Hoopers and 30 other teams are expected to vie for Nigeria’s sole slot to the Basketball Africa League at the Nigeria Basketball Federation’s (NGGF) Premier League, which tips off in three phases on October 21.
Divided into Atlantic and Savannah Conferences, the former will feature 16 teams, while the latter will comprise 15 clubs.
According to the NBBF, the league will be played in three phases of Phase one, Conference finals and Final four.
In phase one, the two conferences – Atlantic and Savannah – have been grouped into four divisions and games will be played simultaneously from October 21 to 29 in different venues.
Atlantic Conference will host eight teams each in Ibadan and Asaba, while Savannah Conference will host seven and eight teams in Abuja and Lafia respectively.
Among teams in the Asaba leg of the Atlantic Conference are Rivers Hooper, Delta Force, Oriental Giants (Awka), Camac (Warri), Lagos Raptors, Police Batons, Lagos Legends and Lagos Warriors. They will play in a round robin format.
The top four teams in each division will qualify for the Conference finals scheduled for November 4 to 12 in a yet to be decided venue.
Best two teams from each conference will advance to the final four and play in a best of three games from November 20.
