There was no time to breathe following last Sunday’s SLB Cup Final action as a full week of Championship action took centre stage.

It was a busy week for the B.Braun Sheffield Sharks, Cheshire Phoenix and Manchester Basketball, as they each played three games in this latest round of games.

Manchester Basketball 100-93 Leicester Riders

Manchester Basketball got their busy week off to a flyer with a 100-93 win over Leicester Riders at the National Basketball Performance Centre on Tuesday night.

A 33-19 ambush from the hosts, mainly thanks to an early 10-2 run, stunned the Riders, who battled back valiantly but were unable to take the lead at any stage of the contest.

Three Manchester players scored 20 points or more in the win, fronted by Donovan Mitchell’s 24 with Makai Ashton-Langford and Cody John going for 22 and 20, respectively.

Charles Thompson was in beast mode for 26 points and 14 rebounds, shooting 12/16 from the field, but it wasn’t enough.

MVP: Makai Ashton-Langford (Manchester Basketball)

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 101-82 Cheshire Phoenix

It was a happy homecoming for the newly-crowned SLB Cup champions, B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, but they had to work hard for their 101-82 victory over the Cheshire Phoenix in South Yorkshire on Wednesday night.

The Sharks were slow out of the gate, as the Phoenix were confident in their approach, looking to spoil the party at the Canon Medical Arena and the visitors went into half-time with a deserved 51-44 lead.

From there though, Sheffield came out a different side, blitzing Cheshire 57-31 in the second half to secure the win.

James Reese V had 20 points and five assists to pace the Sharks, Tyreek Scott-Grayson led all scorers with 25 for the Phoenix.

MVP: James Reese V (B.Braun Sheffield Sharks)

London Lions 90-78 Cheshire Phoenix

SLB Championship leaders London Lions secured their tenth straight league win with a 90-78 victory over Cheshire Phoenix at the CopperBox Arena on Friday.

The latest success was anything but straightforward however as the Lions made it a fourth win against the Phoenix this term, completing the season sweep led by Alen Hadzibegovic’s 24 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Jaiden Delaire added a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds as London needed to dig deep in the second half to overcome the Phoenix. Trailing by as many as 12, Lions clawed their way back to reduce the deficit to 46-44 at the half to take the lead at 68-63 going into the fourth.

From there, the hosts kept their noses in front and created breathing space with under three minutes to play as a Hadzibegovic dunk gave them an 87-76 lead which killed off the contest for good.

Larry Austin Jr. paced Cheshire with 22 points.

MVP: Jaiden Delaire (London Lions)

Manchester Basketball 90-89 Caledonia Gladiators

Manchester Basketball withstood a desperate late fightback to edge Caledonia Gladiators 90-89 at the National Basketball Performance Centre.  

Cody John’s basket with under two minutes to play gave Manchester a 90-83 cushion which looked to be enough.

But Caledonia staged a furious late run as Patrick Whelan and Toto Fagbenle connected on three-pointers to rough up that cushion and make the Manchester fans uncomfortable.

Donovan Mitchell missed a triple with seconds left, leaving the Gladiators with an opportunity to grab an unlikely win, but it was an empty trip as Ian DuBose got the steal from Whelan and ran the clock down.

Dubose finished with 27 points, shooting 4/4 from beyond the arc in a scintillating showcase, guiding Manchester to the win. Whelan led all scorers with 31 points, his second 30-point game in the Championship this season.

MVP: Ian DuBose (Manchester Basketball)

Newcastle Eagles 68-86 Bristol Flyers

Bristol Flyers are aiming to breathe new life into their SLB season as they comfortably dispatched Newcastle Eagles 86-68 at the Vertu Motors Arena.

From the early stages of the first quarter onwards, the Flyers were in control, limiting Newcastle at every opportunity, taking advantage of 13 Newcastle turnovers, turning them into 10 points, ending with 51% from the field.

It was the latest loss for the Eagles, who have now lost four on the bounce, their last win coming against Bristol at the end of February. They weren’t at the races as Bristol found their preferred gear and were at ease throughout.

Keddy Johnson led five Bristol players in double-figures with 17 points, supported by 16 from Demond Robinson.

Christian James and Trey Pulliam each had 20 for the Eagles.

MVP: Keddy Johnson (Bristol Flyers)

Surrey 89ers 69-65 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks

Surrey 89ers exacted revenge on the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks for last Sunday’s SLB Cup Final by shaking the Championship title race to its core on Saturday.

Mervin James had 28 points and eight rebounds to lead the Niners to a 69-65 success at Surrey Sports Park in a physical encounter, typical of past battles between these two teams.

Both side shot a subpar 38% from the floor as Cup Final MVP Donovan Clay was held to just seven points before fouling out late on. Surrey, without the services of Andrew Lawrence and Jordan Hunt executed down the stretch to end Sharks’ 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

Rickey McGill had 13 points to lead the Sharks.

MVP: Mervin James (Surrey 89ers)

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 77-76 Leicester Riders

Heartbreak on the road, but the Sharks rebounded with a narrow 77-76 win over the Leicester Riders less than 24 hours later at the Canon Medical Arena.

Riley Abercrombie missed a vital free throw for Leicester with 0.8 seconds remaining as they miss the chance to jump into second place in the Championship as Sheffield hung on for victory and hung on to their coveted second spot.

Prentiss Nixon led the Sharks with 20 points with Clay responding brilliantly after last night’s woeful showing as he got 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Charles Thompson was one rebound shy of a double-double for Leicester, settling for 16 points and nine rebounds to lead the way for the visitors.

MVP: Prentiss Nixon (B. Braun Sheffield Sharks)

Caledonia Gladiators 68-57 Bristol Flyers

Caledonia Gladiators scored only their third win of the SLB Championship season by downing Bristol Flyers 68-57 at PlaySport.

Three wins to Caledonia’s name and a second at home against the Flyers this season as the hosts recovered from a 32-29 first half deficit to blow the game open with a 19-8 third quarter.

Jett Speelman had 17 points to lead the Gladiators to glory at home with Trevond Barnes impressing with 15 points and eight boards.  

Leslee Smith led Bristol with 12 points but they were hampered with 35% shooting on the day.

MVP: Trevond Barnes (Caledonia Gladiators)

Cheshire Phoenix 80-87 Manchester Basketball

Manchester Basketball passed their third test of the week with an 87-80 win over neighbours Cheshire Phoenix in Ellesmere Port.

For Manchester, it’s their fourth straight win of the Championship season as they raced out of the gates in the first quarter only to be pegged back by a determined Phoenix squad.

In a tightly-contested second half, Manchester had enough in the tank to secure the win as they continue their fantastic form and leave Cheshire stranded with just one win in their last nine games.

Donovan Mitchell had an off-night, shooting just 1/10 from the field, but made up for that by going a flawless 13/13 from the free throw line for 16 points to lead Manchester. Ian DuBose had 14 points and 10 boards.

Cam Holden and Nick Timberlake led the Phoenix with 16 each.

MVP: Ian DuBose (Manchester Basketball)

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