Christmas lead at stake in Wednesday night battle in the capital

Super League Basketball Championship

An unusual Wednesday night helping of hoops sees the Sharks heading down to the capital to defend their current lead of the Championship standings. The London Lions will go above the Sharks with a victory so a battle royale is guaranteed in the big smoke. The influential Ovie Soko returns for the Lions after suspension so it is clear that the Sharks will need to be at the top of their game in what could be one of the match-ups of the season. And of course, the Sharks will be looking for revenge for that first game of the Championship campaign when the Lions were victorious.

Wednesday – Lions v Sharks – Copperbox Arena – 7.30pm

Watch – https://www.dazn.com/en-GB/fixture/ContentId:c1tx6n5judhda38tz5445hnh0/c1tx6n5judhda38tz5445hnh0

Ones To Watch

Michael Brisker – The Lions haven’t appeared in the Championship since the end of November when they were defeated by Caledonia. Guard Brisker contributed 11 points and 4 assists but had been on fire until that point with 21.8 points and 3.3 assists for the season as a whole.

Aaryn Rai – The undefinable Rai is now fully established in London, coming up with an 18 point, 10 rebound double-double in the 79-67 loss to the Scots. The Lions skipper is building nicely with 16.7 points, 7 boards and 3.7 assists for the campaign so far.

Jaiden Delaire – The addition of Delaire has been a bright spot for the Lions this season. A very proficient 15 points and 8 rebounds in the seven games London have played to date and had a positive plus/minus despite the short-handed Lions going down to the Gladiators.

Alen Hadzibegovic – Consistent forward with a solid output for Petar Bozic’s London outfit. 12.7 points and 8 rebounds on average after an 11 point, 15 rebound double-double performance against Caledonia.

Last Meeting

November 1st 2024 – London Lions 92 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 68

Shark Bites

Prentiss Nixon is due to play in his 50th game for the Sharks at London Lions on Wednesday, becoming the 34th player to reach that milestone under Coach Atiba Lyons.

Prentiss will be the 14th import player to play in 50 games under Atiba.

The Lions are the only team the Sharks did not defeat during last season and they have won all the last 5 games between the teams by an average margin of 16 points per game.

The 24 point margin of defeat inflicted by the Lions in the first game of the Championship season is the Sharks heaviest of 2024-25.

SharkNation

The Christmas schedule is well and truly upon us! After Wednesday’s game down in London, we travel to Newcastle on December 27th before returning to the Canon Medical Arena against Surrey 89ers on December 29th. This game is likely to be busy in terms of ticket sales so you are advised to follow the link and get yours as soon as possible:

https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Fixtures?fanStoreType=Fixtures&clubId=216

Don’t forget, you get to see the amazing high-flying Barjots Dunkers as part of this fixture so buckle up for a thrilling afternoon of basketball action. Everyone at the club would like to wish our wonderful SharkNation of fans a very Merry Christmas and we can’t wait to see you on the 29th. It’s time to #FearTheFin!

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Adam Bates