PREVIEW: Friday night date in The Tank for Shamrock Sharks

BBL Championship

After last weekend’s perfect double-header, there is another two game stint for the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks this time around. St Patricks Day on Friday sees Surrey Scorchers make the trip to Ponds Forge with the Sharks needing one more win to complete a clean sweep over the Guildford-based outfit. On Sunday, the Sharks take on the league leaders, London Lions, who have just two Championship defeats to their name – one of which came against the Sharks.

Friday – Sharks v Scorchers – Ponds Forge – 7.30pm

Tickets – B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Surrey Scorchers – BBL Championship Tickets, Fri 17 Mar 2023 at 19:30 | Eventbrite

Ones To Watch

Padiet Wang – Athletic South Sudan international who has aided his nation to FIBA World Championship qualification. Scored 21 against the Sharks last Saturday including 3 mammoth three point shots.

Josh McFolley – Made two clutch three-pointers down the stretch as last Saturday’s game went down to the wire. Finished with 5 of 16 shooting for 19 points and 5 rebounds but was unable force a home win for Surrey.

Tayo Ogedengbe – Nearly half an hour court time for the BBL vet in Saturday’s encounter where he finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal. Made 25 points the week previous so clearly still a dangerous operator.

Ryan Martin – Unfortunately fouled out for Surrey last Saturday and was unable to influence the game for his side with only 3 points and 4 rebounds. Season average of 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds suggests he is one to watch for the Scorchers.

Last Meeting

March 11^th 2023 – Surrey Scorchers (Wang 21 McFolley 19 Steel 9) 67 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Pipkins 22 Glasgow 12 Nichols 11) 70

Sunday – Lions v Sharks – Copperbox Arena – 4.00pm

Watch – London Lions vs Sheffield Sharks, BBL Championship – LIVE – YouTube

Ones To Watch

Sam Dekker – The former Toronto Raptor revelled in his captaincy role last Sunday by leading the Lions to an immense 102-51 win at Plymouth. Made 18 points and dished out 8 assists in just 16 minutes as the Patriots were swept aside.

Josh Sharma – With Kosta Koufos being restricted to the Lions European roster for the rest of the campaign, the GB big man is enjoying court time at centre. 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks against Plymouth last week on 6 of 8 shooting.

Josh Ward-Hibbert – Talented Brit guard who did a bit of everything against the Patriots. Finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal in the South West as well as staying out there for 25 minutes in a Lions roster that shares its minutes evenly.

Mo Soluade – Missed just one shot in a very efficient outing against Plymouth. Contributed 5 of London’s 33 assists in total as well as 11 points and 6 rebounds from a starting role. Another GB international.

Last Meeting

January 22^nd 2023 – London Lions (Best 18 Dekker 17 Koufos 14) 75 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Nichols 19 Ramsey 11 Nelson 10) 63

Shark Bites

The Sharks win at Surrey last Saturday was their 10^th consecutive victory against the Scorchers meaning they now have at least 10 consecutive wins against all the other current members of the BBL except Bristol, Newcastle and Plymouth.

Should the Sharks win on Friday against Surrey, it will be the 26^th time Sheffield have achieved a 4-0 Championship sweep in a season.

Last Saturday Surrey scored only 31 points in two point field goals and free throws combined. Scorchers only made 9 two point field goals last weekend, the first time ever under Atiba Lyons that the Sharks have held the opposition to single figures.

After the games last weekend, the Sharks are one of only 3 teams in the BBL with a winning record (4-2) in the last 6 games played, all competitions included. The others are London (6-0) and Bristol (4-2).

SharkNation

We hope you enjoyed two excellent wins last weekend that saw us climb the table. Two more big games this weekend and we hope you’ll be there to cheer us on our Playoff journey. It was a tight one against Surrey last Saturday so we’re going to need a vocal SharkNation in the Tank if we’re going to pick up another dub! See the ticket link at the top of the page to secure your seat and lets get the gym rocking – don’t forget to wear something green as we celebrate St Patricks Day! (Guinness optional!). The whole team made a big contribution in two big games last week and you guys can also play your part. We are the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks – #KnowOurName!

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Adam Bates