Royal Hoopers Head Coach Warns His Boys To Beware Of Complacency

Royal Hoopers basketball club of Port Harcourt head coach, Ogoh Odaudu has warned his boys to sit up if they must get promoted DSTV premier league next season.

 The hosts of the 2015 edition of the National Men Division 1 Basketball League blasted his players after losing their Day 2 clash with Raptors of Lagos 72 - 43 on Sunday.

Hoopers defeated Osun Lions 115-43 in their curtain raiser and failed to replicate same on their second game against the Lagos team thereby giving the coach serious concern about their ambition to host and win the tournament.

Odaudu described the defeat as highly disappointing warning that except Hoopers improve in subsequent games, they risk the chance of picking the sole ticket at stake from the conference especially that there are teams like the Comets also eyeing qualification to the elite league from the Atlantic Conference.

"I am not impressed at all with our play against Raptors especially after starting the tournament well and scoring 115 points in our opening game. The team did not play well at all and had to struggle all through the game. They never played to instruction and were busy doing something else in the court. I told them specifically to relax, get their balls and shoot but they were busy rushing and hasty. The truth is that we have to review our chances by improving if we want to qualify to play in the DSTV League because if they continue like this it will be difficult."

Hoopers clash with Police Bombers Monday and will have their biggest test on Thursday when they meet their biggest threat from the Conference, Comets of Lagos coached by former D' Tigers and national team coach Ayo Bakare in a clash that most likely will determine the leader of Atlantic Conference. Incidentally, Hoopers coach, Ogoh Odaudu was an assistant to Ayo Bakare in the 2013 edition of Afrobasket held in Abidjan, Cote d' Ivoire.