Mixed bag for Sheffield Sharks as they stumble to the London Lions in the capital

The Sheffield Sharks enjoyed a mixed bag of a weekend as they won one and lost one in their attempts to climb up the table.
Sheffield Sharks fell to London Lions in the BBL Championship Series on Sunday afternoon.Sheffield Sharks fell to London Lions in the BBL Championship Series on Sunday afternoon.
Sheffield Sharks fell to London Lions in the BBL Championship Series on Sunday afternoon.

Atiba Lyons’ side got off to the perfect start as they put Plymouth City Patriots to the sword with 71-61 victory at the Shark Tank on Friday night, with Rodney Glasgow Jr top scoring with 17 points as he landed the MVP award.

It was a result that kept the Sharks in the running for a top two finish, and their guard, Jordan Ratinho, spoke afterwards about them having set that as a target for themselves – and he admitted that, after five straight home wins, their form on home court was key.

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Speaking to Radio Sheffield he said, “Second place is definitely a target - we have some games where we could pull away from the pack a little bit… If we win the games that we need to win - or that we should win - then I think we could pull away and get into that second spot.

“We always try to defend the home court, and I think we play well defensively when we’re at home. I think we’re a little bit more focused at home, and have a bit more time to prepare.”

But those aspirations will have taken a hit on Sunday as they went up against fellow challengers, the London Lions, who managed to hold them to their lowest score of the season so far in what turned out to be a 69/54 defeat in the capital.

Antwain Johnson top scored at the Copper Box Arena, however his 17 points weren’t enough to secure what would have been an impressive away win.

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Lyons and his team now turn their attentions to the Bristol Flyers on Friday evening and Cheshire Phoenix a couple of days later - two away games that could play a huge part in how the end of their season pans out.

The Sharks have already lost to the Flyers on two occasions this year, and they’ll be keen to make sure that doesn’t happen again when they travel to the SGS College Arena.