REPORT: Sharks edged out in tight Roses clash

Sunday 19^th February 2023

BBL Championship

Manchester Giants 70 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 65

The usual shootout between the old Roses rivals failed to materialise as the Manchester Giants edged a defensive scrap against the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks. The five point lead Manchester took into half time proved crucial as an even second half saw the hosts go to a 12-11 record with the win. Despite the loss, the Sharks hold on to eighth place in the table ahead of a huge game against Surrey on Friday.

Starting Fives

Giants: Green, Lee, Williams, Roberson, Fletcher.

Sharks: Nelson, Nichols, Ratinho, Ramsey, Koch.

Key Moments

It was always likely that this one was going to be a close contest and a 22-22 opening quarter bore that out. Manchester made their usual expressive start, taking an 11-6 lead on William Lee’s three point score. When the Sharks gained their composure, Sa’eed Nelson’s acrobatic and-one play and Jordan Ratinho’s fake for three saw the visitors in front at 13-14. The lead changed hands several times to the end of the quarter – Tahj Green made it 18-17, Marcus Delpeche turned that to 18-20 and the quarter ended level on Devearl Ramsey’s basket high off the glass.

Sharks new signing Jalon Pipkins, introduced with 2.45 left of the first period, only took 58 seconds of the second to put up the first points of his Sharks career with a corner three at 22-25. The trading of leads continued into the final three minutes of the half. Big shots from Manchester’s Dirk Williams and the Sharks’ Jordan Ratinho saw their sides go back in front but it was another big Williams triple that saw Manchester take a 38-35 advantage. A Tahj Green putback made the gap five at 40-35 and the Giants held that as the half closed at 44-39.

The second half was a wholly more defensive affair. Manchester went ahead by ten at 51-41 on William Lee’s second triple of the contest but back to back threes from Pipkins ensured the Sharks stayed in touch at 55-49. Anthony Roberson gave the Giants a 57-51 lead from the line with 2.40 of the third quarter still to play but with defence to the fore, that’s how the score remained ahead of the final period.

The fourth quarter was no less of tight contest. Roberson restored Manchester’s double digit lead from the line at 61-51 but a 2-12 run from a fired up Sheffield side was concluded on Ramsey’s steal and coast-to-coast basket. Lee got the lucky roll as his third trey dropped through the hoop with the score at 68-63 but Ramsey’s pair from the stripe reduced that by two. As both sides turned up the defensive intensity, the Sharks were left to rue a missed dunk from Marcus Delpeche with 25 seconds to play. A pair of timeouts came to nothing for the Yorkshire side; Anthony Roberson’s dunk putting the punctuation mark on a hard-fought Manchester win at 70-65.

MVP

The Sharks new dynamic saw their guards highly influential in a closely-fought contest. New signing Jalon Pipkins made three shots from beyond the arc to cap a promising debut with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block. Devearl Ramsey filled up his statline with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a block and Sa’eed Nelson flirted with a triple double for 9 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. Jordan Ratinho spent long stretches at power forward for his 10 points and a notable 4 steals. The overall MVP was Marcus Delpeche however. His 12 point, 8 rebound, 2 assist and 1 steal outing almost got his side over the line but sadly the Sharks fell agonisingly short once again.

Next game

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Surrey Scorchers, Friday February 24^th 2023, Ponds Forge, 7.30pm Tip Off.

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Adam Bates