Big Double Weekend coming up for Sharks

BBL Championship

Friday 28^th September 2018 DBL Sharks Sheffield v Surrey Scorchers

Saturday 29^th September 2018 Bristol Flyers v DBL Sharks Sheffield

The Sharks welcome Surrey Scorchers to ‘The Tank’ for the second game of the BBL season, looking to reverse memories of an opening night defeat to Lancastrian rivals Manchester Giants. In the second game of a double-header weekend, the team take the journey down to Bristol for a Saturday night encounter with the Flyers.

What to Expect

Surrey Scorchers (Home – Friday)

It may only be the second week but a ‘battle of the bottom two’ was completely unexpected at this stage. Surrey went down by 92-94 at home to Glasgow Rocks to go bottom of the standings albeit alphabetically. The Scorchers were as many as twenty two points down to the Rocks at half time but staged a remarkable fightback before Ali Fraser ended their hopes with a game-winning lay-up. The fightback sums up the Surrey ethos however – never say never. Returnee Quincy Taylor poured in 21 points with 9 assists from the point and was almost matched by vet talent Tayo Ogedengbe, who scored one fewer using all his BBL experience. Coach Creon Raftopoulos has crafted another compact but hard-working unit and their opening weekend defeat is sure to be just a blip on their record.

Bristol Flyers (Away – Saturday)

Bristol too suffered defeat in the opening match; newcomers London City Royals getting the new franchise off to a ‘flying’ start. It was a close game throughout but with a Matthew Bryan-Amaning inspired Royals taking a 73-78 road win. Bristol did lead for long periods and Jalan McCloud excelled with 20 points on the night. The WISE Arena is small and intimidating and Flyers (and England) Coach Andreas Kapoulas has again assembled a roster that has a solid ‘team’ ethic. Bristol again will be another side where their opening weekend experience won’t match their season overall and another tough encounter awaits.

Shark Watch

Coach Atiba Lyons felt his side were somewhat complacent against Manchester following what was a relatively successful pre-season campaign. The margin of defeat wasn’t huge, however, and Lyons will be looking for a reaction from his players. Pleasing was the return from Dirk Williams, who poured in 23 points with 9 rebounds but it will take a more concerted team effort for the Sharks to put a digit in the win column.

Last Time Out

Sharks (Williams 26, Wroblicky 22, Alexander 17) 99-94 Scorchers (Hicks 28, Ogedengbe 21, Owumi 14)                    

Flyers (Weary 23, Davis 13, Boggs 11) 79-76 Sharks (Williams 26, Alexander 21, Wroblicky 12)

Fans Corner

It was great to see ‘The Tank’ so full for opening night and we’d love a repeat this coming Friday! Look out on our social media channels for another pre-match playlist to get you in the mood for another big Friday night. Let us know on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram what you think or send us suggestions for future playlists you’d like to see. If you can’t make it to Bristol on Saturday, tune in via www.livebasketball.tv to watch the game (subscription required). Don’t forget, our next home game against London Lions on Friday 5th October takes place at Ponds Forge – it’s retro night!

Tickets

Images: Andy Chubb