Red Rose Joy On Opening Night

Friday 21^st September 2018

BBL Championship

DBL Sharks Sheffield 87-92 Manchester Giants

There was opening night heartbreak for the DBL Sharks Sheffield as Lancastrian rivals Manchester Giants took the first points of the season and claimed a red rose success in one of the BBL’s oldest rivalries. A 17-27 fourth quarter was key to the Giants success as they showed no ill-effects from a traffic delay that delayed the game by twenty minutes.

Starting Fives

Sharks: Tuck, Marsden, Alexander, Williams, Castro-Caneddy

Giants: Jones C, Granic, McCall Jr, Clayton, Butler

Key Moments

There was little between the two sides for fully three quarters. Rene Castro-Caneddy’s three point score late in the first quarter saw the Sharks claim a 20-16 lead.

Sedale Hanson-Young drained a huge trey from the beyond the top of the key at 32-20 with 6.37 to play in the second period. It was to be the Sharks largest lead of the game. Nine points from Mike McCall Jr led the Manchester fightback but it was Dirk Williams who concluded the first half with another three point score at 45-41.

Williams’ ‘and one’ rearrange inched the Sharks in front at 66-59 late in the third quarter. The Sharks couldn’t shake off the attentions of the Giants as the third stanza ended at 70-65.

Everything looked hunky-dory as Williams again connected from distance at 75-67 with a huge triple early in the fourth. The Giants in green had other ideas. Bankevics pulled Manchester to within three at 75-72 and BBL vet James Jones gunned his side into a 77-79 lead midway through the quarter. The Sharks went into penalty with 2.23 remaining in the game, as both sides battled foul trouble. Torry Butler’s score over Matthew Don, followed by a huge rejection on Marsden signalled the death knell for the Sharks. Don fouled out with 17 seconds remaining and Dirk Williams three attempt rimmed out as the points went Manchester’s way by 87-92.

MVP

Rene Castro-Caneddy marked his professional debut with ten points in the opening quarter on his way to 14 in total, with 2 assists to boot. Late in the game, Chris Alexander became increasingly influential, contributing 16 points with 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Full of Yorkshire grit in a Roses encounter, it was a typically workmanlike display from Rob Marsden, who pulled in 6 boards to go with his 11 points. Despite receiving close attention early in the encounter, the MVP was a relatively easy choice. Dirk Williams broke the Manchester shackles to contribute 23 points with 9 rebounds. Williams took his time to grow into the game but soon found his three point threat, drove forcefully into the paint and added to the defensive effort.

Quotes

It was a frustrating evening for Sharks Coach, Atiba Lyons. Having seen his side go 3-1 in pre-season, the Brooklyn-born playcaller felt the team had taken a step backwards. A double weekend awaits the Sharks next time out and Lyons is keen to ensure his roster doesn’t become complacent, even at this early stage of the season.

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Image:

Andy Chubb