British Basketball League Trophy begins this Saturday

British Basketball League Trophy

Two groups of five, one calendar month, one thrilling Finals weekend. We take a break from the regular season action as the British Basketball League Trophy takes centre stage for January. After the group stage, the competition will come to a climax in a Final Four showdown at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham over the weekend of 27th and 28th January. The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks are in a group with Plymouth, Cheshire and Caledonia but first up, out campaign gets underway in Guildford against Surrey Scorchers this Saturday.

Saturday – Scorchers v Sharks – Surrey Sports Park – 5.00pm

Watch – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQBzYt2g4BM

Ones To Watch

Andrew Lawrence – The Scorchers have a tremendous New Years Day record but sadly fell just short against London Lions this time around. Ex-GB Olympian Lawrence was hugely influential with 13 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists on 57% shooting but couldn’t prevent the leaders from adding to their growing win column.

Padiet Wang – The athletic South Sudanese international gave the men from the capital a fright as Surrey took an early lead before going down by 80-85. Wang was close to a double-double with 9 points and 9 assists as well as 5 rebounds and 3 steals in a solid all-round game as you would expect of his talent.

Quin Cooper – Provides a significant three point threat for the men from Surrey Sports Park. Pushes close to 40% from beyond the arc and made 3 of 6 against the Lions to finish with 9 points. Surrey were positive 13 during his 13 minutes on court so his impact is appreciable.

Justin Robinson – Former two-time league MVP and while he is now in the veteran stage of his career, his talent remains undiminished. Has battled back from serious injury but still contributes 12.2 points per game with 2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.9 steals as a valuable component of Coach Gardner’s roster.

Last Meeting

November 9th 2023 – B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Ramsey 14 Pipkins 13 Ratinho 12) 81 Surrey Scorchers (Lawrence 14 Wang 12 Hunt 10) 78

Shark Bites

The Sharks have been victorious in all their last five encounters with the Scorchers, beginning with a 92-74 home success back on 24th February 2023, although both sides come into the game with a recent 2-3 record.

The Sharks out-shoot the Scorchers from both two point range (48% to 47%) and three point territory (37% to 34%). Jordan Ratinho is the leading three point shooter from both sides at 42%.

So far in regular season play, the Sharks maintain a positive basket difference of +17 as opposed to the Scorchers, who currently rate at negative -82.

Neither side have a huge standout in terms of average points scored. Jalon Pipkins tops the field with 12.6 points per game, closely followed by Justin Robinson (12.2), Kipper Nichols (11.7), Devearl Ramsey (11.2) and Padiet Wang (10.9).

SharkNation

New Year, new competition! But our SharkNation are still very much needed as we enter 2024. The month of January is the British Basketball League Trophy competition, which means every game is a must-win! You can watch us down in Surrey via the YouTube link at the top of the page this Saturday but our first home game is on Thursday 11th January when Caledonia Gladiators are the visitors to Canon Medical Arena. And because it’s January, who fancies a sale? Go to https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Fixtures?fanStoreType=Fixtures&clubId=216 and use the code ‘TROPHY’ to get 50% off your tickets for this game! You took us to victory against the Giants in the last game of 2023, come along and do the same for the first home game of 2024. Every game is a big one in the Trophy and together we are UNBEATABLE! Make 2024 the year of the Shark. #FearTheFin

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Adam Bates