Massive double-header kicks off 2025 for Sharks

Super League Basketball Championship

2024 ended with a double winning weekend but will 2025 begin in the same way? The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks start the New Year with another thrilling double-header in a bid to maintain their push at the top of the table. Roses rivalry is renewed on Friday evening when the Sharks take the journey over the Pennines to tackle an improving Manchester Basketball side. On Sunday, London Lions come to the Canon Medical Arena for a mouth-watering battle of the top two that already has ‘game of the season’ potential. The Sharks are going to have plenty of support at both fixtures as they are becoming the hottest ticket in town!

Friday – Manchester Basketball v Sharks – National Basketball Performance Centre – 7.30pm

Watch - https://www.dazn.com/en-GB/fixture/ContentId:cadcv21zjegb24toy6nkw9ous/cadcv21zjegb24toy6nkw9ous

Ones To Watch

DJ Mitchell – Went lights-out in Manchester’s recent win over Caledonia. Shot an eye-watering 8 of 10 from deep on his way to 26 points as his side moved to 3-5 for the Championship season in Scotland.

Nathan Cayo – Manchester’s stand-out scorer of the season so far. Averages 18.6 points for the campaign and bettered that in the Caledonia win with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, going a perfect 6 from 6 under the hoop.

Ian Dubose – Former Gladiator who made the swap to the North West recently. Filled his statline against his former employers for 11 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists in the 85-91 road win in Scotland.

Makai Ashton-Langford – Assist-friendly guard who generally makes Manchester tick. Only 4 points against Caledonia but pulled down 6 boards with 3 dimes. 12.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists for the season so far.

Last Meeting

December 1st 2024 – Manchester Basketball 70 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 80

Sunday – Sharks v Lions – Canon Medical Arena – 4.00pm

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

Ones To Watch

Jaiden Delaire – Eye-catching Brit forward who was the Lions stand-out in their recent loss to Leicester Riders. Flirted with a double-double at 16 points with 8 rebounds as London proved they are fallible in an 84-75 road loss.

Aaryn Rai – Another near double-double candidate who contributed 14 points and 8 boards in the Riders encounter. Difficult to pigeonhole due to his immense versatility and averages 16.3 / 7.0 / 4.3 for the season to date.

Tyler Peterson – Recent guard recruit who has settled into life with the Lions almost immediately. 5 assists and 15 points against Leicester as London slipped to exactly the same record as the Sharks at the top of the standings.

Michael Brisker – Was a bit below his season stats with 10 points against the Riders but still managed to dish out 6 assists. Excellent three point shooter who averages 18.2 points for the season so far.

Last Meeting

December 18th 2024 – London Lions 80 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 77

Shark Bites

The Sharks play their first fixture of 2025 at Manchester on Friday. In the previous initial games of the New Year, they have 18 wins and 12 losses.

The game at Manchester falls on the Sharks most successful date of the year. January 3rd has seen more wins – 8 – without any losses than any other date on the calendar.

Rodney Chatman has six scores of 20 points or more this season for the Sharks. This is more than anybody over each of the last 3 seasons.

London Lions have never lost at the Canon Medical Arena. The last 6 games between the Sharks and the Lions have all been won by the team from London as they close in on equalling their longest sequence of wins against the Sharks, which stands at eight.

SharkNation

Our loyal SharkNation of fans carried us to two big wins last weekend. Are you up for doing it once more? We know that we have a large posse heading over to Manchester on Friday night and it would be great to fill the Tank once again on Sunday in that huge North versus South clash against the Lions on Sunday. The DAZN link is higher up the page if you want to stream Friday’s game live and for free and the ticket link for the massive London game is just a little below. The guys love the support from our sixth man so fill the seats, make as much noise as you possibly can and we’ll take care of the rest. London have two league wins over us already this season so we’re out for revenge. It’s time to #FearTheFin!

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Adam Bates