Historic double header weekend as the Sharks go home

British Basketball League Regular Season

It’s here! The Sharks play their historic first game at the Canon Medical Arena when Newcastle Eagles come to town this Sunday for a 3pm tip off. But before the big day, the team make one more road trip down to the south west to tackle Europe-bound Bristol Flyers. It is another thrilling double header in what is proving already to be an enthralling season. And this new home of South Yorkshire basketball has to be seen to be believed!

Friday – Flyers v Sharks – SGS College Arena – 7.30pm

Watch – Bristol Flyers vs B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, British Basketball League Championship - LIVE - YouTube

Ones To Watch

Tevin Olison – Returnee Olison is one of the few constants from a much-changed Flyers roster. Team-high 17 points with 6 rebounds, an assist and a steal in last Saturday’s 74-92 home defeat to Leicester Riders.

Kedrian Johnson – Already proving to be a consistent contributor even at this early stage of the campaign. 15 points and 3 rebounds against the Riders from 31 minutes which almost exactly matches his season stats so far.

Brad Greene – Sizeable presence at centre for the Europe-bound Flyers, where he is already pulling down 7 boards per game.

Raphell Thomas-Edwards – Brit forward who is newly-installed as the Bristol captain for the season. His 15 point, 11 rebound double-double made for a terrific contest against Leicester but unfortunately his side just came up short in the end.

Last Meeting

April 23rd 2023 – B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 65 (Nelson 11 Koch 10 Glasgow Jr 11) Bristol Flyers (Watson-Gayle 19 Bell 12 Delpeche 12) 73

Sunday – Sharks v Eagles – Canon Medical Arena – 3.00pm

Tickets - Fanbase | Schedule (fanbaseclub.com)

Ones To Watch

Jordan Johnson – The Newcastle skipper led their scoring with 18 on Friday when a big final quarter from Cheshire saw them go down by 73-80 at home. Dished out 6 assists in trademark fashion but couldn’t get the Geordies over the line.

Rickey McGill – Another component of a star-studded Eagles backcourt. 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals against the ‘Nix showed his vast experience and undoubted talent.

Larry Austin Jr – The third part of the Newcastle ball-handling department. Able to create his own shot in devastating fashion as well as being comfortable cleaning up off the glass. 12 points, 7 rebounds against Cheshire.

Tahj Green – The former Manchester Giant loves life above the rim and is an efficient and effective scorer too. A little below par against Cheshire but still averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds at this early stage of the campaign.

Last Meeting

September 14th 2023 – Newcastle Eagles (Green 17 Johnson 14 Austin Jr 13) 79 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Pipkins 16 Ramsey 12 Koch 11) 72

Shark Bites

The Sharks go into their game with Bristol Flyers holding a narrow 14-13 advantage in the 27 matches played between the clubs. The 14 visits to Bristol have brought the Sharks 6 wins with 3 of the last 5 trips to South Gloucestershire going to overtime.

So far this season the Sharks have scored 304 points whilst conceding 308. The breakdown for points scoring is 75 points in 3’s for both the Sharks and their opponents, 186 points in 2’s for Sharks compared to 152 whilst Sharks have made 43 of 60 free throws against 81 of 103 for the opposition.

The last time the Sharks moved to a brand new home court was at the EISS on 29th September 2006, where they played Newcastle. The Sharks won a pulsating game 85-83 having only led twice.

That game also marked the Sharks debut of Atiba Lyons, who scored 15 points!

SharkNation

It is finally here! Your B. Braun Sharks make their homecoming to the brand new Canon Medical Arena this Sunday when Newcastle come to town. We’ve got a brand new Tank and we need you to fill it. We think you’ll agree that the guys have done a solid job while on the road but there’s no place like home. We’ve got a great team, we’ve got an amazing arena, now all we need are the SharkNation to bring the noise. Get your tickets from the link above, get down early and soak in everything that our new venue has to offer. It’s going to be an historic afternoon and we need you to play your part. We’re going to make this place UNBEATABLE! #FearTheFin

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Adam Bates