PREVIEW: South West split for the Sharks over the next two games

BBL Championship

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks are going to be spending plenty of time in the south west of the country with an unusual Saturday / Wednesday double header. Saturday (3^rd December) sees the Sharks head on down to the current league leaders Bristol Flyers, led by Coach Andreas Kapoulas. Then it’s a midweek (Wednesday 7^th December) jaunt down to Devon to tackle the mercurial Plymouth City Patriots, scene of the Sharks recent 69-88 win.

Saturday – Flyers v Sharks – SGS College Arena – 7.30pm

Watch – British Basketball League – YouTube

Ones To Watch

Jelani Watson-Gayle – Not only are the Flyers top of the league standings, they made it to the semi-finals of the BBL Cup with a 95-76 win over Manchester Giants. Brit point guard Watson-Gayle continued his impressive form so far with a game high 21 points to ensure Bristol progressed.

Malcolm Delpeche – The south-west based Delpeche brother continues to light it up for the Flyers. An 18 point, 12 rebound double double was another key to stopping the free-scoring Mancunians as Bristol march on in all competitions.

Vincent King – Torched the Sharks for 19 points last time out and has standout season stats so far of 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.8 steals from an average of 33 minutes per game for the Bristolians.

Thomas Bell III – One of a series of glue-guys for the Flyers, who always makes a valuable contribution and provides depth to Coach Kapoulas’ roster. 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds so far this year and is fond of a steal with 1.4 per game to date.

Last Meeting

October 1^st 2022 – Bristol Flyers (King 19 Bell 11 Mahan / Delpeche 10) 68 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Ogunyemi 12 Banks Jr 8 Koch 8) 55

Wednesday – Patriots v Sharks – Plymouth Pavilions – 7.30pm

Watch – British Basketball League – YouTube

Ones To Watch

Rashad Hassan – The Pats have shot the lights out since that defeat at home to the Sharks and consistent vet Hassan has been key to that. His 19 points and 8 rebounds on 69% shooting saw Plymouth get the better of Manchester by 103-96 in their last outing.

Antonio Williams – All-action guard who can run amok if given half an opportunity. Has amazing season stats of 18.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2 steals per game and poured in another 19 against the Giants on their way to a famous victory.

Elvisi Dusha – Having his best season in memory and was an assist machine in the Manchester victory with an eye-watering 17! Not to be slept on from behind the arc either where he is pushing 40% and a healthy season average of 14.9 points per game.

James Hawthorne Jr – The Pats were +14 while he was on court in the big Manchester win, where he claimed 13 points, 9 rebounds and an assist in a very efficient 20 minutes work.

Last Meeting

November 13^th 2022 – Plymouth City Patriots (Hassan 16 Dusha 15 Hawthorne Jr / Williams 13) 69 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Nelson / Delpeche 15 Koch 13 Ogunyemi 11) 88

Shark Bites

The Sharks have a narrow 13-11 advantage in the 24 encounters with Bristol so far. The Sharks have won 5 of the 13 games played in Bristol.

Sharks versus Flyers has a reputation for low scoring games with Sheffield having failed to reach 60 points 3 times and Bristol twice in those 24 games.

The Sharks are 4-0 over the Plymouth franchise since they became the Patriots. The recent 19 point win was the biggest in the series so far.

The Patriots have four players (Antonio Williams, Elvisi Dusha, Rashad Hassan and Troy Simons) who average more points per game than the nearest Shark, Sa’eed Nelson.

SharkNation

Don’t forget you need never miss any of the action, even when the Sharks are all the way down in the South West of the country. Check out the BBL YouTube page where you can see every game live and for free – see the links elsewhere on this page! When we return back to the Tank, we’ve got a pre-Christmas treat of a double-header for you to get your live fix of the finest Sharks basketball. Put December 16^th and 18^th in your diary when Manchester and Plymouth are our opponents in a truly festive warm-up. Until then, send us your support over our social media channels – the guys love to see it. Can we topple the leaders? Will we snuff out the Patriots once again? It’s time to #FearTheFin!

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Adam Bates