PREVIEW: Will it be seven? Sharks head to Cheshire this Sunday

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks
B. Braun Sheffield Sharks
March 30, 20236:00 AM
BBL Championship

Can they make it seven? The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks head to the Cheshire Oaks Arena this Sunday, scene of their recent BBL Trophy semi-final defeat, looking for a seventh BBL Championship win on the bounce against the hometown Cheshire Phoenix. The ‘Nix suffered the heartbreak of losing last week’s Trophy Final on the last shot of the game to Caledonia Gladiators with the Sharks claiming consecutive win number six against Leicester Riders at Ponds Forge on Friday. Just four points separated the sides in that Trophy semi so another humdinger is on the cards on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday – Phoenix v Sharks – Cheshire Oaks Arena – 5.30pm

Watch – Cheshire Phoenix vs Sheffield Sharks BBL Championship – LIVE – YouTube

Ones To Watch

Larry Austin – The Phoenix captain led by example in the 73-70 loss to Caledonia but it wasn’t quite enough to bring silverware back to Ellesmere Port. His 12 point, 10 rebound double-double also came with 4 steals but successive Trophy wins eluded the ‘Nix this time out.

Will Neighbour – Forward who likes to shoot the three if given an opportunity. Made 2 of 4 up in Glasgow, finishing with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Averages 13.5 points and 4 boards for the season.

Marcus Evans – Lively former Bristol Flyers guard with a solid all-round game. Putting up 15.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6 assists for the season but was slightly under that against Caledonia, finishing with 12 / 4 / 4.

Tahjai Teague – From a famous basketball family and was impactful in the final quarter when Cheshire beat the Sharks at the semi-final stage. Had the highest shooting percentage for the ‘Nix in the final with 66% to finish with 12 as well as 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block.

Last Meeting

March 5th 2022 – Cheshire Phoenix (Neighbour 16 Evans 15 Teague 14) 82 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Nelson 22 Delpeche 16 Ramsey 11) 78

Shark Bites

The Sharks play Cheshire twice in eight days and the head to head between the teams is almost perfectly matched. Each club has one win and Cheshire hold a slim 137-135 basket difference advantage.

Sunday will see Sharks make their 15th visit to Ellesmere Port Sports Village in all competitions, winning 5 times. Phoenix have come out on top in 7 of the last 9 games on their home court.

Sharks are currently on a 6 game winning streak in the Championship. The last time this happened was in a run between 2nd November 2018 and 14th December 2018.

After Kipper Nichols 64 game streak of starting for the Sharks came to an end, the club have won every Championship game where he has come off the bench.

SharkNation

What about that win last Friday night in The Tank! The atmosphere was off the scale when Rodney made the three point shot that all but confirmed a memorable win over the Riders. If you want to go along to cheer the guys on in Cheshire this Sunday, then all your support would be appreciated. But if you can’t make it, the YouTube link is at the top of this page to follow all the action. We will need the noise once again on Easter Sunday when Cheshire make the journey over to us for the reverse fixture. Get your tickets here:

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Cheshire Phoenix – BBL Championship Tickets, Sun 9 Apr 2023 at 16:00 | Eventbrite

And turn the volume up to 11 once again! We are the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks! #KnowOurName

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Adam Bates

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