Super League Basketball Championship
Its Roses time once again! The Sharks head over the Pennines to take on Lancastrian rivals Manchester Basketball on Friday with the season series nicely poised at one game apiece. Manchester sit one place above the Sharks by virtue of one fewer defeat so it is clear that this red rose against white rose battle is going to be a big one. Manchester come into the game following a road win up in Scotland against Caledonia with the Sharks looking to bounce back from defeat at the hands of Surrey.
Friday – Manchester v Sharks – National Basketball Performance Centre – 7.30pm
Watch - https://www.dazn.com/en-GB/fixture/ContentId:1sdns7r6iylox1tleg1defqagb/1sdns7r6iylox1tleg1defqagb
Ones To Watch
Max Jones – The guard top scored in a team affair that got the job done against the Gladiators. His 19 points included three big makes from deep to see Mcr to a 13 point win. Averages 14.8 points for the season.
Kaiyem Cleary – Local product who wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to repping Manchester. Contributed 15 points and 8 rebounds as the North West side claimed a 75-88 road victory in Scotland.
Matthew Nicholson – Had a very efficient night against Caledonia. His 10 point, 11 rebound double-double saw him go 100% from the field and the free throw line, resulting in an index of 24 for the towering Centre.
Patrick Smith Jr – Another quality guard residing in Manchester this season, Smith handed out 6 assists in the win over the Gladiators as well as shooting 57% from the field. Shares field general duties with fellow PG Jordan Johnson.
Last Meeting
November 16th 2025 – B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 98 Manchester Basketball 79
Shark Bites
The Sharks and Manchester meet for the third time this season on Friday with both previous games being won by the home team. This continues the recent run where the last five games between the clubs have been won by the home team.
In their first nine games of the season, the Sharks scored 79.33 points per game. The subsequent seven games have seen that increase to 90.43 points per game.
The Sharks have not lost a game in the regulation forty minutes when scoring 100 plus since 22nd November 2008 – a 44 game run. The only losses since that date when reaching 100 have involved overtime.
In the Sharks first thirteen games of the season, they recorded two double-doubles – William Lee had 12 points and 10 rebounds at Cheshire on 12th October and Rodney Chatman with 17 points and 14 assists at Newcastle on 14th November. Mervin James has a double-double in each of his last three games with a combined total of 68 points and 35 rebounds.
SharkNation
A spot of Friday night Championship hoops awaits the Sharks this week with the relatively short journey over the hills to Manchester. The guys would appreciate any travelling support for this big local derby and we know that quite a few of you love an away day to Lancashire city. If you can’t make it on Friday, tune in as ever on DAZN (link at the top of the page) where you can see the game live and for free. We’re back at home in a couple of weeks on Sunday 18th January when league leaders London Lions are in town. You won’t want to miss this one so head to https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Fixtures?fanStoreType=Fixtures&clubId=216 to secure your seats for what will undoubtedly be one of the games of the season. 2026 – Let’s make it the Year of the Shark! It’s time to #FearTheFin!
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Josh Rackham
