Rivers Hoopers on Saturday defeated Kwara Falcons 59-57 to win the third place final of the DSTV Basketball League Final 8 Play offs.

The Port Harcourt-based outfit had lost failed to reach the finals after defeat to Lagos based side, Nigeria Customs on Friday beat Rivers Hoopers 69-47 in the semi-final, subsequently ending the newly promoted Hoopers’ fairy tale run.

Somtochukwu Managor scored 16 points, 11 rebounds in his 24 minutes of play on court but was not enough to salvage a win for a less-inspiring Hoopers side who were muscled out by Customs’ Solomon Ezra who had a game high 21points, 14 rebounds while also contributing 4 blocks.

The Port Harcourt side ironically had a better first quarter despite losing it 11-19, but struggled in the remaining quarters (22-39, 35-54, 47-69) and could hardly make easy baskets allowing the Lagos side capitalise on their errors with domineering offensive shots.

While third place finalist, Kwara Falcons suffered 71-56 semi-final loss to former champions and tournament favourites Kano Pillars. Next up, the final will have Kano Pillars and Nigeria Customs.