Focus turns to the Cup for the Sharks on Sunday

Super League Basketball Cup

Attentions turn away from the Super League Basketball Championship for the weekend as the Sharks head down south to tackle Reading Rockets of the National Basketball League in the Cup. The Rockets are currently third in NBL Division One with a 7-3 record behind second-placed Derby Trailblazers and leaders Hemel Storm. They defeated Nottingham Hoods by 95-65 last weekend and are one of seven teams looking to land a scalp from the nine SLB sides. The Sharks will be looking for safe passage through to the quarter-finals where they will take on the winners of the Nottingham Hoods and Cheshire Phoenix tie.

Sunday – Rockets v Sharks – Loddon Valley Leisure Centre – 4.00pm

** PLEASE NOTE – this game is NOT being live-streamed **

Livestats – https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/SLB/2594442/

Ones To Watch

Mitch Clarke – Led all scorers against Nottingham with an electric 24 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists to keep the pressure on the top two in Division One. Made three shots from beyond the arc to boot.

Justin Hopkins – Was just a single point behind Clarke in the takedown of the Hoods with 3 boards and an assist in addition. Hopkins was on court for a shade over 28 minutes and ended with an efficiency rating of 18.

Victor Olarerin – A big all-round game for the NBL stalwart, who filled his statline with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. His efficiency of 24 was second only to Clarke’s of 29.

Zain Poorman – Led the Rockets off the glass with 8 boards to go with his 6 points and 4 assists. His rebounding efforts were matched by team-mate Ty Nsangu but he failed to contribute to the scoresheet.

Last Meeting

January 19th 2014 – Reading Rockets 73 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 85

Shark Bites

Twelve previous meetings with lower league teams have brought the Sharks a perfect 12-0 record in all Cup and Trophy games combined. The 8 games played before Atiba Lyons took over as Coach had an average winning margin of 24 points, whilst Atiba’s 4 wins have been by 22 points on average.

The Sharks have led at half time in all their last 7 fixtures by a total of 62 points – an average advantage of 8.86 points.

In the 8 Championship games played so far this season, the Sharks have an average advantage of 6.63 points in the first half. Those same 8 Championship fixtures have seen the Sharks being outscored by an average of 1.50 points in the second half.

The Sharks play at Reading Rockets on Sunday for the second time in club history. The previous game produced an 85-73 Sharks win. A 3 point half time lead was pegged back by the Rockets to level at 39 apiece early in the 3rd quarter, before a 13-2 Sharks run opened up the game. Nicholas Lewis hit a career-high score of 33 points.

SharkNation

Unless you have a ticket for the game in Reading, you won’t be able to see your B. Braun Sheffield Sharks in action this weekend. Rest assured, you can keep up with the game on Livestats (link at the top of the page) and across the Sharks socials where we will post regular updates. So while you’re waiting, why not treat yourself to some ‘Twixtmas’ action and book a seat for our December 29th game against Surrey 89ers? Not only will you see another top-class game, we’ve got the high-flying Barjots Dunkers giving a scintillating half time performance! Head to the link to secure your tickets:

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

It’s an exciting time to be a member of the ‘SharkNation.’ It’s time to #FearTheFin!

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Adam Bates