Crunch time for Sharks in must-win Saturday game

British Basketball League Playoff Quarter Final

Game Two of the Playoff Quarter Final best-of-three takes places at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena on Saturday with the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks needing a win to stay in the competition. Victory would see the series go into a Game Three, which would take place at a time to be advised on Sunday at the Canon Medical Arena. Game One was a humdinger with very little to choose between the two sides and Saturday should be no different. Win and stay alive, lose and go home – it’s crunch time!

Saturday – Riders v Sharks – Mattioli Arena – 6.45pm

Watch – Sky Sports - YouTube

Sunday – Sharks v Riders – Canon Medical Arena – TBA (if required)

Tickets - Fanbase | Schedule (fanbaseclub.com)

Ones To Watch

Teddy Allen – Fascinating battle with the likes of Jordan Ratinho and Jalon Pipkins as the Sharks restricted the free-scoring Leicester man to 8 first half points and 9 second half last Sunday. Always likely to get hot at any moment, he saw out Sunday’s game from the line, making 6 of 7 free throws.

Conner Washington – Played a key 13 minute spell, most of which was in the fourth quarter, which included a vital three point shot that hauled the Riders into contention. Used sparingly these days but has the potential to be as influential as he was on Sunday.

Miryne Thomas – Was a perfect 7 from 7 inside the arc last Sunday on his way to 24 points with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot. Played nearly 36 minutes and will be one of the Riders’ go-to men once again.

Jaren Holmes – Played an aggressive game in Sheffield last weekend, driving the lane for 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block. Also made 6 of his 7 shots from the line as Leicester got clutch down the stretch.

Last Meeting

April 28th 2024 – B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Nixon 25 Pipkins 14 Glasgow 11) 81 Leicester Riders (Thomas 24 Holmes 21 Allen 17) 84

Shark Bites

Sunday’s game marked Jordan Ratinho’s 150th appearance for the Sharks. He becomes the ninth player in Coach Atiba Lyons 16 seasons as Coach to reach this milestone. Ahead of Jordan are Coach Lyons himself (154), Kipper Nichols (157), Bennett Koch (179), Nicholas Lewis (185), Olu Babalola (216), Colin Sing (225), Zach Gachette (243) and Mike Tuck (500).

It is 25 years since the British Basketball League last had the best-of-three game format in the quarter finals of the playoffs. The Sharks first five seasons in the league saw them defeat Birmingham in 1995 (2-1), Worthing in 1996 (2-0), Manchester in 1997 (2-0) and London Leopards in 1999 (2-1). However, they lost 2-0 in 1998 to a Paul James-coached Thames Valley Tigers.

In those 5 previous best-of-three encounters, the Sharks played Game One away from home in all of them, losing three, whilst winning Game Two 4 times out of 5 at home.

1995 saw the three game series played in 10 days, while 1999 saw the trio of matches concluded in just 6 days. The format back then saw the semi-finals and final on consecutive days at Wembley Arena, two weeks after the quarter finals.

SharkNation

Crunch time for your B. Braun Sheffield Sharks down in Leicester this Saturday night! A win is needed to ensure that the season continues and we get back to the Canon Medical Arena on Sunday for the decider. We know our travelling SharkNation will be there loud and proud, cheering the guys on but if you can’t make it to Leicester, tune in to the live stream and send us your support via social media. The guys feed off your energy and will be doing everything they can to get to the O2 Arena in a couple of weeks time. It’s time once again to be UNBEATABLE! It’s time to #FearTheFin.

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Adam Bates