Sheffield Sharks v Plymouth University Raiders

Friday 03 October 2014
EIS Sheffield (19:30)

Last year’s BBL Championship runners-up split their opening two games, beating Durham Wildcats before slipping 76-72 at Manchester Giants.

Babalola was left in no doubt as to where Sharks let Sunday’s game get away and, as a leader in the locker room, is quick to address the issue.

“Sunday was a learning experience, especially for the new guys,” said Babalola.

“We need to play real defence. Not fake ‘I’m trying hard’ defence. We will fix that in practice. We pride ourselves on being a defensive team and we feel that playing defence with passion and pride, that alone gives us a shot at many championships.

“We need to get on board with that and I take that upon myself personally to express to the team, which I did in the locker room after the game, and will relay on the practice court.”

Should that work on the practice court be done properly and executed come game night, Babalola sees no reason why Sharks cannot beat any team that stands in their way – and ultimately challenge for the BBL Championship once again.

He added: “I say this with the upmost modesty, we believe if we do our job correctly then we have a chance to win regardless of who we play. So it isn’t about who we’re playing.

“It’s about how we play and if we get down to it and play as a defensive team first, we feel we can beat anybody. This week practice will be about defence with personal pride.”

Last time they met:

Plymouth Raiders 71 Sheffield Sharks 81 (BBL Championship, Plymouth Pavilions, 20/04/2014)

What they say:

Raiders guard Josh Wilcher: “Our defensive rotations were just a little late on Saturday night [against Bristol Flyers] which caused us some issues down the stretch. On offence we all felt that if we moved the ball more we would create better opportunities for everyone so that’s an on-going aspect for us.

“We got a lot of confidence after the win against Surrey United on Sunday, we were happy with the result without one of our main pieces in Brent Benson and having just welcomed Dave Evans into the team.”

For information about tickets visit www.sharksbasketball.co.uk.

Story – BBL

 

BBL THIS WEEKEND

Friday 03 October 2014
CH 19:30 Leeds Force v Glasgow Rocks
CH 19:30 London Lions v Bristol Flyers
CH 19:30 Sheffield Sharks v Plymouth University Raiders
CH 19:30 Worcester Wolves v Cheshire Phoenix

Saturday 04 October 2014
CH 19:00 Surrey United v Glasgow Rocks

Sunday 05 October 2014
CH 16:00 Durham Wildcats v Esh Group Eagles Newcastle
CH 17:30 Cheshire Phoenix v Leeds Force
CH 18:00 Manchester Giants v Worcester Wolves

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