Super League Basketball Playoff Quarter Final
It’s the playoffs so that means the Riders right? The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks and the Leicester Riders match up for the fourth consecutive year in post-season with all eyes on a May 17th date at London’s O2 Arena. Of course, there are two-leg aggregate quarter-finals and semi-finals to negotiate first. The season series between the two teams was level at 2-2 but the Riders claimed their wins over the Sharks a little under a fortnight ago so may feel that they’ve got the measure of their opponents. But it’s Playoff basketball and undoubtedly anything can happen. Both teams need to leave it all out on court for the next 80 minutes – it’s win or go home time!
Friday – Riders v Sharks – Mattioli Arena – 7.30pm
Watch - https://www.dazn.com/en-GB/fixture/ContentId:1894pdud80iqk59ojlpdhhc050/1894pdud80iqk59ojlpdhhc050
Sunday – Sharks v Riders – Canon Medical Arena – 4.00pm
Tickets - https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Fixtures?fanStoreType=Fixtures&clubId=216
Ones to Watch
Travis Evee – Riders playmaker and floor general who is known for his assist-friendly style and knock down shooting. Dished 7 dimes in Riders last game of regular season in Cheshire as an undermanned Leicester side went down by 98-77.
Keddy Johnson – Late high quality recruit for the Riders, who had previous league experience with Bristol Flyers. 11 points in the defeat to the Phoenix but has been putting up 18.8 points since his arrival in the East Midlands.
Flynn Boardman-Raffet – Didn’t suit up in Cheshire but prior to that had a stellar run of games where he averaged in excess of 20 points per game. Young Brit who has risen to the challenge of becoming Leicester’s captain and talisman.
Xavier Bledson – Another late recruit for the Riders but is showing his influence game by game. Top-scored for Leicester at Ellesmere Port with 16 points and 5 rebounds from the bench that also included a trio of big shots from downtown.
Last Meeting
April 21st 2026 – Leicester Riders 87 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 85
Shark Bites
Head Coach Atiba Lyons goes into his 17th playoff campaign in charge of the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks this weekend. The previous 16 have seen the Sharks progress to the semi-final stage 8 times with their season ending at the quarter-finals the same number of times.
The Sharks have lost their first playoff game in seven of the last eight seasons. In those most recent eight playoff seasons, the three years where the Sharks progressed to the semi-final stage, all saw them lose their first game in the quarter-final.
With two of the last three regular season games being against Leicester and then meeting the Riders in the quarter-finals of the playoffs, the Sharks will play the same opponent four times in five games in the same season for just the second time in their 32 season history. The previous instance was against Newcastle in March / April 2013.
In each of their previous two seasons based at the Canon Medical Arena, the Sharks have reached the semi-final stage of the playoffs.
SharkNation
That sell-out crowd against Manchester last weekend was amazing. But guess what? We’ve got to do it all again this weekend! You cannot miss the thrills and spills of playoff basketball as we look to send Atiba and the guys one step closer to those all-important finals at the O2 on May 17th. We’re going to have a great travelling contingent in Leicester on Friday and we need to see the Tank full to the brim on Sunday to roar the team on. Hit the ticket link higher up the page and secure your seat for what is guaranteed to be one of the most thrilling games of the season. 8 teams – 1 champion. It’s win or go home. It’s the playoffs. It’s time to #FearTheFin.
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Josh Rackham
