Heat at Sharks – BBL Championship Preview
BBL Championship
Sunday 30 September 2012
One Health Sharks Sheffield v Surrey Heat
The second part of their weekend double-header sees the One Health Sharks Sheffield entertain the Surrey Heat at the unusual time of 5pm on a Sunday. After the opening Friday defeat to the Leicester Riders, the Sharks will be seeking their first win of the new season if they haven’t already achieved it at league returnees, Manchester Giants in Gorton on Friday.
Surrey couldn’t have wished for a better start to their campaign with a huge 106-45 win over the hastily-assembled Mersey Tigers. It is clearly difficult to judge how much the Heat benefitted from such an imposing win, given that Mersey were composed of players largely taken from the lower reaches of British basketball and were devoid of any import players but Creon Raftopoulos’ men put up some outstanding numbers on the night. Rangy forward Sam Cricelli grabbed a place in the BBL Team of the Week with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals only to be joined by rookie guard Chavis Holmes, who compiled 15 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and a steal. Namesake Frank Holmes found a place on the bench with 18 points and 12 rebounds and there were non-too-shabby contributions all over including 16 from Martelle McLemore and 13 from skipper Julius Joseph. Surrey threatened the league all-time winning margin with 61 points but eventually fell short of the 72 required.
The Sharks season started inauspiciously with a 55-71 dip at home to the Leicester Riders. Met with the early blow of new shooting guard Micah Williams being unable to suit up due to a delayed clearance from the Japanese League authorities, Sheffield started brightly but faded against another shrewdly put together Rob Paternostro team. Highlight of the Sharks performance was point guard Gage Daye. In an all action display, Daye was the driving force of his team with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals.
Both Leicester and the Sharks looked a little undercooked but Coach Atiba Lyons appears philosophical about his team’s development. Speaking of the upcoming clash, Atiba said ‘We have a long way to go to get to the level we need to be on to compete. I think we are jumping right into the deep end.’ With thoughts of the match-up with the Heat, Lyons continued, ‘It is another good test in a long season to gauge where we are and what we have to do to improve as a team.’ Better news for the Sharks in that Williams clearance has now come through and he will be able to figure in both of the weekend games.
Last season, the Sharks owned the series over the previously-named Guildford Heat. Sheffield won on the road in Surrey by 86-75 before the Heat won a thriller at the EIS by 80-78. The final match saw the Sharks win by 87-78 on their way to securing a playoff berth.
A final reminder, this is a departure from the Sharks usual tip-off time and day; 5pm at the EIS Sheffield this Sunday. For game tweets follow @billybadknees.
