PREVIEW: Sharks focus switches to Trophy game in Leicester
BBL Trophy
The BBL Championship goes on pause for a week as the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks focus on a BBL Trophy Quarter Final tie away at Leicester Riders. The winners meet either Surrey Scorchers or Cheshire Phoenix in the semis ahead of March’s showpiece final at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. It’s win or go home – time to leave it all out on court for the Sharks!
Friday – Riders v Sharks – Morningside Arena – 7.45pm
Watch – Leicester Riders vs Sheffield Sharks, BBL Trophy Quarter Finals – LIVE – YouTube
Ones To Watch
Kimbal Mackenzie – Elevated to the role of starting point guard now and relishing the floor general responsibility. Dished out 6 assists in the recent 99-77 home win over Surrey as well as adding 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting and pulling down 4 rebounds.
Marc Loving – As well as making 21 against the Scorchers, the all-action Loving averages 15.4 points per game, 5.9 boards and 3 steals. As happy shooting the three as playing above the rim, Loving is undoubtedly one of the Riders key players.
Zach Jackson – Fits Coach Paternostro’s ethos to a tee. Quietly efficient with exemplary shooting ability. Converts 60% of his shots inside and 46% from beyond the arc for an average of 15.8 points this season.
Carrington Love – Love is all around in Leicester with the acquisition of the floor general just prior to the BBL Cup Final. The 29 year old is a graduate of Green Bay and averaged 16.6 points and 5.8 assists in Bremerhaven, Germany last season.
Last Meeting
November 18th 2022 – Leicester Riders (Jackson 17 Loving 15 Whelan 13) 71 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Koch 12 Banks 11 Nichols 10) 58
Shark Bites
The Sharks have not progressed to the semi final stage of any of the 3 BBL knockout competitions since May 2019. That quarter final win came in a two legged tie with Newcastle.
The Sharks last single game quarter final win in any competition was by 81-76 at Newcastle on 19th January 2018 in the Trophy.
The first ever Atiba Lyons vs Rob Paternostro coaching clash was at the John Sandford Sports Centre on 1st November 2018. Player / Coach Atiba fouled out, the game went to overtime and Riders won.
The only previous one off Trophy games between Sharks and Riders have both come in the final – the Sharks with their famous win in March 2013 and the Riders with a win in 2018.
SharkNation
The Sharks take a breather from the Championship for a week to focus on another chance at silverware in the BBL Trophy. Standing in their way are the illustrious Leicester Riders. If you can’t make the short journey down to the Morningside Arena, don’t forget you can watch the game live and for free using the link at the top of the page. We’re long overdue another final here at the Sharks so any support you can give the guys is always most welcome! And don’t forget we’re back at Ponds Forge on February 24th when Surrey Scorchers are in town for what promises to be one of the most crucial games of the season! Don’t miss out – get your tickets at B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Surrey Scorchers – BBL Championship Tickets, Fri 24 Feb 2023 at 19:30 | Eventbrite. We need our SharkNation more than ever – it’s time to #FearTheFin!
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Adam Bates
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