Lace 'em up! Sheffield are on their way to Nottingham! - The Cup Final

Super League Basketball Cup Final

It’s the day that Sheffield takes over Nottingham! Both the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks and stablemates the B. Braun Sheffield Hatters make the short journey to the East Midlands to take on Surrey 89ers and Oaklands Wolves in their respective Cup Finals. The Sharks have completed three increasingly-tough wins over the most impressive Surrey side of recent years this season and the Hatters go toe-to-toe with the team just above them in the women’s league Championship. It all adds up to the most-anticipated Cup Finals day of recent years with South Yorkshire looking to leave its mark at the pinnacle of the British Basketball scene.

Sunday – Sharks v 89ers – Motorpoint Arena – 3.30pm

Watch - https://www.dazn.com/en-GB/fixture/ContentId:aj3ramkd31tyo00198pw1gyz8/aj3ramkd31tyo00198pw1gyz8

Ones To Watch

Dame Adelekun – Surrey warmed up for the Final with victory over Caledonia Gladiators and forward Adelekun was key to another impressive win. His 15 point, 14 rebound double-double came with 7 offensive boards on 66% shooting to confirm that he is a problem in the paint.

Mervin James – When Surrey need a bucket, they go to James. 12 points and 7 boards was a slight departure from season averages of 17.3 points and 6 rebounds against the Gladiators. The forward always catches the eye however and is most definitely a Surrey dangerman.

Jalen Ray – Standout leftie who is putting up 13.9 points per game with his effective three point shooting. Ray is also deadly from the free throw line, leading the league with an outstanding 94.3% success rate.

Cameron Gooden – Pulls the strings for the 89ers from the point as is reflected in an assist rate of 4.9 per game. A little under par with 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists against Caledonia but still effective enough to lead his side to a 79-71 victory.

Last Meeting

January 17th 2025 – Surrey 89ers 61 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 63

Shark Bites

The Sharks have played six games previously on the 9th of March, winning them all including the famous Trophy victory over Leicester in Glasgow in 2013, where they went into the game as massive underdogs.

The Sharks have never before played in Nottingham. However, current player Jamell Anderson was born there, as was Sharks first captain, Garnet Gayle.

It is 28 years since the Sharks lost in a Cup final. The loss in 1997 was to London Leopards. The subsequent 5 National / BBL Cup finals all resulted in a win. A total of 8 National / BBL Cup finals have seen the Sharks winning six times.

A total of 17 finals have been reached by the club since 1994, providing 10 wins spread over the Cup, Trophy and Play Off formats. Coach Atiba Lyons has a perfect 2-0 record in Cup finals as Head Coach of the Sharks and is 4-2 in all Finals combined.

The three previous occasions the Sharks have gone into a Final undefeated against their Final opponent that season, they have always triumphed in the Final: London Towers 2-0 1998 Trophy, London Leopards 2-0 1999 Cup and Cheshire 3-0 in the 2010 Cup.

SharkNation

It’s finally here! The day we’ve all been waiting for when both Sheffield sides get to demonstrate their talents on the highest stage. The Sharks go into this one after that come-from-behind win over Bristol by 67-74 and the Hatters took an equally impressive 57-72 win in Manchester at the weekend. We need to turn Nottingham into a sea of blue and here’s where you, our valued supporters come in. You’ve been amazing all season long and we’re sure you’re going to enjoy the day as much as our teams out on the court. Sing the songs, make the noise and most of all have a great time – when you’re on form, we’re on form! It is most definitely time to #FearTheFin!

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Adam Bates