The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks face an unusual Saturday night
The international weekend is over and once again Sheffield basketball is at the forefront of the domestic scene.
The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks face an unusual Saturday night match-up against SLB Championship leaders London Lions, keen to remain in the hunt for a good playoff seeding. Counterparts the B. Braun Sheffield Hatters celebrate ascending to the top of the women’s standings and look forward to their next encounter with Nottingham Wildcats.
The big game of last weekend was the Hatters match-up against fellow title challengers Caledonia Gladiators. A big crowd packed the Canon Medical Arena as the Scots claimed a 39-45 half time lead in South Yorkshire. The Hatters fought back to take the third quarter by 17-11 and dominated the fourth to the tune of 27-14 to race on to an 83-70 victory.
There were big performances from Nina Krisper (10 points, 8 assists), Georgia Gayle (15 points) and Megan Mullings (17 points, 6 rebounds) but it was Antoinette Lewis who led the scoring for her 19 point, 6 rebound display.
The Hatters now sit at the top of the SLB womens standings with an 11 win, 2 loss record, followed by the Gladiators who claim second having fallen to 9-3. Next up for the Hatters is a Saturday afternoon visit to eighth-ranked Nottingham Wildcats as their quest for the league title continues.
Male counterparts the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks benefitted from a blank weekend due to the FIBA World Cup qualifiers but return to action this Saturday when the league-leading London Lions come to the Canon Medical Arena (7.30pm tip off).
The Lions look unassailable with a 15 win 3 loss record at the top of the table and they defeated the Sharks by 83-92 as recently as 18th January. Recent GB international debutant Deane Williams excelled that day with a 19 point, 6 rebound performance but the Lions under their Lithuanian management have many exciting weapons up their sleeve. Another pair of Brit-qualified players, Amin Adamu and Aaryn Rai, catch the eye for the men from the capital and their talented squad also benefits from quality Americans like Chaundee Brown Jr.
For the Sharks, former Lion Fahro Alihodzic will be facing his old team as Atiba Lyons’ men look to push on from their current 4th place position to cement the best possible playoff seeding. A big crowd is expected for the encounter and tickets can be bought from the Sharks website, www.sheffieldsharks.co.uk.