Nigerian champions Rivers Hoopers have acquired Patriots point guard William Perry ahead of the Basketball Africa League 2024.
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The ‘Kingsmen’ will be making a return to the continent’s elite club Basketball championship three years after taking part in the inaugural edition in 2021 where they crashed out in the group stages.
Hoopers, knowing fully well that no Nigerian team had ever gone past the first round in the last three seasons, are looking to rewrite that script with the addition of the America star point guard hoping to see his services influence their performance in the Sahara Conference which also features AS Douanes of host nation Senegal, APR of Rwanda and season 2 champions U.S Monastir of Tunisia.
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Perry previously featured for Ferroviario da Beira for two consecutive BAL seasons. He helped the Mozambican side reach the quarterfinals of 2023 season when he tied BAL record for most points scored in a single game and also set a new record for most three-pointers made in a single game.
Playing with his team in the Nile conference, Perry scored 41 points and 8 assists including 9 three-pointers in Beira’s 109-97 win over SLAC.
He at the time went on to average 17 points, 6.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds, hence taking home the 2023 BAL sportsmanship award for his fairness and role played during the season.
Perry, 30, is a strong point guard who possesses a wealth of experience.
He may be the joint record holder for most points scored in a single, but the America recently Nigerian media he likes to be a rather team player.
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"I’m a team guy. I just want to help the team win. So I would say the main target for me is to win as many games as possible.
I’m a really good shooter after the dribble. I’m a good pick and roll player, and I think I’m a leader and I love to win,” Perry cued.
"I think the teams that I go to usually win games. So, it’s just that. I have a lot of weaknesses too, but I play to my strengths,” he added.
Perry has previously played for CB Zamora of Spain, ADO Basquetebol SAD Ovarense (Portugal) and Akademiks Bulteks 99 Plovdiv (Bulgaria) before coming down to Africa where he’s featured for teams in Mozambique, Rwanda and now Nigeria.
Details of the transfer weren’t disclosed but it appears he’s joined the team just for the duration of the BAL season 4.
Meanwhile, Hoopers are keeping a keen eye on their conference opponents APR of Rwanda who are currently on a 10-day training camp in Qatar ahead of their debut season in the BAL.
The Rwandan champions beat Qatari side Al Wakrah 108-80 in a scrimmage on Thursday and they are eager to win their second buildup game against Al Rayyan.