Atiba Lyons is Molten BBL Coach of the Month

In a tight month with multiple candidates for the gong, Lyons was given the nod after he guided his team past second seeds Leicester Riders and into this weekend’s Play-Off Semi Finals.

The coach led his team to five wins during the period, opening up April with three consecutive victories.

Their first success during April was a 92-61 home win against Bristol Flyers and that was followed by a comfortable 95-79 road triumph at Surrey United.

One of the most eye-catching wins was a thrilling 73-71 victory against London Lions at the Copper Box Arena.

While Lyons and his players faltered against Leicester Riders 82-70 in their next fixture, they would ultimately extract some sweet revenge during the Play-Offs.

Sharks bounced straight back with a 96-87 success on their own court against Manchester Giants and wrapped up the regular season with a 75-68 defeat against Cheshire Phoenix.

It was their first leg display in the Play-Off Quarter Final tie with Riders that really made the difference, as Lyons enjoyed his team producing one of their best displays of the year to collect a fine 79-68 win off the back of a great effort by forward Mike Tuck and the classy Mike Cook.

While they eventually lost 91-85 in the return game after overtime, Sharks had enough of a cushion to seal a spot in the last four of the Play-Offs against Esh Group Eagles Newcastle and Lyons will now try to propel his team to the prestigious BBL Play-Off Final at The o2 on Sunday 10 May.

Lyons fought off competition from Cheshire Phoenix coach John Coffino and Riders’ play-caller Rob Paternostro who both lost only twice during the month.