The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks drive towards playoff positions continues

The Sharks were able to give a debut to new signing Fahro Alihodzic last Friday as a good second half performance saw them defeat Caledonia Gladiators in Scotland. A tough Bristol Flyers outfit took a nine point win away from the Canon Medical Arena on Sunday however as the Sharks dropped to fourth in the SLB Championship table. The FIBA international weekend now follows with the Sharks league campaign resuming on Wednesday week.

The stop-start nature of the fixture schedule saw the Sharks head up to East Kilbride to take on Caledonia Gladiators last Friday after another break of a week. Both sides looked somewhat rusty in a first half that the Sharks shaded by 39-38 but momentum at the end of the second quarter was carried through into the third. The Sharks took that third stanza by 29-15 and the fourth by 24-17 to run out comfortable winners by 92-70.

Experienced new signing Fahro Alihodzic showed all his veteran smarts to end with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals and there were useful scoring returns from Rodney Chatman III (15) and Prentiss Nixon (16). A very efficient shooting night saw MVP William Lee miss only one 3 point attempt on his way to a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds.

The Sharks ascended momentarily to third in the SLB Championship standings but were faced with a much tougher prospect against Bristol Flyers at the Canon Medical Arena on Sunday. The game was very much nip and tuck right the way through and it wasn’t until the end of the third quarter that the Flyers opened up a 71-63 advantage. Undeterred, the Sharks battled back to within three points with two minutes to play but it was Bristol who managed to see things out from the free throw line to a 94-85 win.

There were 11 point returns for Rodney Chatman III, Mervin James and Mike Ochereobia but despite his attempts to carry the team on his back, Dirk Williams’ 24 point, 5 rebound, 2 assist, 2 steal game was in vain. The Sharks slipped to an 11 win, 10 loss Championship record as a result and down to fourth in the standings.

The FIBA international weekend sees another blank domestic round but the Sharks do return to action on Wednesday 4th March when they head to seventh-placed Leicester Riders in their next Championship fixture.

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