Sheffield Sharks on a '˜war' footing in BBL Cup

Sheffield Sharks' Mike Tuck scores against Manchester Giants. Picture: Andrew Roe

DBL Sharks Sheffield captain Mike Tuck says it will be '˜war' against Glasgow Rocks tonight as the club embarks on their 2016/17 BBL Cup campaign.

It’s been two weeks since they last played a game but Tuck insists the Sharks whe yesterday signed 6ft 3in Rashawn Rembert - have used the free weekend to their advantage following a 101-86 win over previously-unbeaten London Lions.

“It would have been nice to have another game to test ourselves after such a good win, but these two weeks have given us a really good chance to prepare ourselves for the cup game and help one or two of our guys get better” he said.

The side will also be looking to avenge a 78-61 defeat at the hands of Glasgow earlier this season - something Tuck says the Sharks will use as encouragement tonight. “This is a huge game for us” says Tuck.

“We’re going to use that loss up at Glasgow as fuel for the fire. We’ve spent the last two weeks going over everything about Glasgow. Seeing as this is a cup game, it’s not just a regular game - these games are much more important and this is the first time in the season we’re playing for silverware. It’s going to be a war.

“Anything can happen to any team on any given night. For us, it’s realising that and then focusing on one game at a time.”

And Tuck is confident that after a mixed start to the season, the Sharks are beginning to hit the floor running in games.

“The past few weeks it’s been a bit more consistent in terms of personnel,” said Tuck. “Making so many switches has been pretty much unique for us but we’re heading in the right direction. We’re starting to get our plays down and we’re consistently scoring the ball - one of our biggest problems has been offense this season but it’s starting to come together.”

Tuck will be using the side’s back-to-back BBL Cup triumphs of 2010 and 2011 as inspiration.

Sharks last won the cup five years ago - becoming the first side ever to win it in consecutive years - something which Tuck is keen to keep in mind when the side face Glasgow Rocks in their quarter final. “The last time we won the cup it was against Mersey Tigers, and they had a great team” said Tuck. “They had Andrew Sullivan, Nate Reinking, Perry Lawson - all of whom were former Sharks players - and it was just such a sweet win. It was sweet because we were billed us as a massive underdog but we came out and ended up winning the final by a massive margin.

“We had a great group of guys who just knew how to play well together. It would be great to get back to that final.”