Rebooted Sharks head to Worcester

BBL Championship

Friday 8th March 2019

Worcester Wolves v DBL Sharks Sheffield

The reboot is complete. The DBL Sharks Sheffield finally make a return to competitive action with a refreshed roster and the business end of the season in front of them. Out go Anthony Collins and Nick Madray and in come Drago Brcina and the returning Mackey McKnight as the Sharks seek to keep their proud record of achieving a playoff berth every season throughout their history. First up, is a Worcester side that is resurgent under the temporary stewardship of former GB playcaller Tony Garbelotto.

What to expect

The Sharks were victorious by 114-76 when the two sides met at the EIS back on January 11th. That was the night of the unfortunate illness to Wolves Coach Ty Shaw and since then the vastly experienced Tony Garbelotto has taken the helm. While results haven’t been entirely reflective of this, Garbelotto has added two more to the Worcester win column with victories over Surrey Scorchers (84-79) and Plymouth Raiders (74-91) and a series of near-misses against opposition of some calibre. Clearly, Garbelotto’s influence has been immense on the Wolves but also key has been a return to fitness for Deshawn Freeman, who averages 19.3 ppg and 11 rpg as well as a return to the West Midlands for Alex Navajas, who remains a fans favourite. Worcester sit at the foot of the table with a 3-19 record but they are hot on the heels of Surrey Scorchers and will be looking to achieve their best possible finish in what has been something of a transitional season for them.

Shark Watch

With eleven games to secure a playoff place, Sharks Coach Atiba Lyons clearly felt he needed to act to arrest a slump and has done so with the addition of McKnight and Brcina. McKnight is clearly a known quantity for the Sharks – he maintains the high assist ratio of his predecessor Anthony Collins and offers a greater scoring threat. The Sharks have been unfortunate with forwards this season and with Mike Tuck’s current injury still keeping him on the sidelines for the time being, the addition of Brcina is an understandable one. Brcina looks mobile and can finish from a variety of areas and so should be just the tonic Coach Lyons was looking for. The two have been in the region during the two week layoff and so should be able to hit the ground running upon the Sharks return to the court this coming Friday. The final third of the season is here and it is from this point on that momentum becomes key.

Last time out

DBL Sharks Sheffield (Alexander 32, Williams 32, Tuck 12) 114 Worcester Wolves (Prosper 17, Thoseby 15, Whelan 13) 76

Fans Corner

Sharks version 3.0 are here and they need your support! If you can’t make it down to the University Arena in Worcester for Friday’s game, then don’t forget to tune in to livebasketball.tv for the 7.30pm tip off. March 17th sees us visit Cheshire Phoenix followed by a double weekend in London against the Lions (March 22nd) and the Royals (March 23rd). Then finally we arrive back home on March 29th when Bristol Flyers, where you can see the ‘Return of the Mac’ and the home debut of Drago! It’s the most exciting time of the season and we need you on board!