Sheffield Sharks playoff destiny finally confirmed
The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks finally know their playoff fate.
A fourth place finish in the Super League Basketball Championship, which had looked on the cards for a long time, was confirmed for B. Braun Sheffield Sharks last weekend.
As a result, the Sharks will match up against Leicester Riders at the quarter final stage this coming weekend; the fourth consecutive year that the sides have met in post-season. The Sharks did have one final regular season fixture last Sunday against Manchester Basketball but with results elsewhere confirming their league ranking, the game was ultimately a dead rubber.
Victory for London Lions over Surrey 89ers on Saturday evening confirmed the playoff set-up for 2025-26. The Sharks fourth place finish would see them take on Leicester Riders at the quarter final stage of post-season. However, the Sharks did have one final regular season game to play, albeit a dead rubber, against Manchester Basketball last Sunday.
Manchester, fresh from finishing as runners-up in the ENBL in Germany in midweek, came out at pace with four big three point shots for a 33-42 half time lead. A 25-20 third quarter in the Sharks favour closed the deficit and the Sharks even took a fourth quarter lead on a Troy D’Amico triple. However, the Lancastrians finished strongly and held out for a 74-82 victory.
Prentiss Nixon weighed in with 10 points and in the absence of Rodney Chatman III, Dirk Williams turned facilitator with 6 assists as well as 11 points. Jordan Ratinho found success from deep for his 13 points and the ever-dependable Fahro Alihodzic led the Sharks scoring with 19. The energy and commitment of Troy D’Amico took the MVP award however for his all-round display of 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
The Sharks will head to Leicester’s Mattioli Arena on Friday evening for a 7.30pm tip off with the reverse fixture taking place at the Canon Medical Arena on Sunday afternoon (4pm tip off). The winner will progress to the semi-finals on aggregate score with the final taking place at London’s O2 Arena on Sunday May 17th.
The Riders recently beat the Sharks twice, by 80-92 at the Canon Medical Arena on April 19th and again by 87-85 in Leicester two days later. The Riders recently suffered an injury to key player and Captain Flynn Boardman-Raffet but with the intensity of playoff basketball looming, two highly competitive games are likely to be on the cards. Tickets for the second leg can be purchased from the Sharks website.