| Glasgow Rocks | 86 |
| Guildford Heat | 75 |
A victory for Rocks would seal a place in the play-offs, while Sharks’ post-season hopes would be given a massive boost if they can win on Friday.
Sharks player-coach Atiba Lyons expects a difficult game against the Scottish club:
“The Rocks have hit a bit of a rough patch but have more than enough talent to make waves in the playoffs.
Rob Yanders is a dynamic point guard and always gives his a team a chance to win. Sterling Davis and Will Johnson are strong interior players. Will Johnson has been improving every game since returning from his hiatus and is now in great form.
I expect a very tough match up. Every time we have met the Rocks it has been a tough game that has been decided in the final minutes.
The play-off race is tight as ever. We need to secure a few more wins to guarantee our spot. We have done a great job getting back into contention, because a month ago we were headed for an early end to our season. We have to focus on our last two games and treat them like play-off games."
Sheffield go into the game on the back of a heavy home loss against Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, leaving Lyons a disappointed man:
“I thought our last game versus the Riders was a combination of poor play by us and a good team effort by Leicester. We played very flat from the beginning of the game and had to many individual below par performances. Bradd Wierzbicki played well for them especially in the first half. Also Tommy Swanson played with a lot of energy which I think helped fuel their team.”
Rocks coach Sterling Davis is ready for a tough game in Sheffield:
“We’ve had some good battles against them this season. Like ourselves they’ve had a topsy-turvy season, and have struggled with consistency. We’ll both hand something to play for, and I guess we’ll see how it comes out. They’ve improved dramatically since the start of the season, but we need a performance that will give us a win and send us into the play-offs on a high.”
Home court advantage has proved to be key in the four games between the teams this season. Rocks won the BBL Championship encounter between the two teams when they met in Scotland in January, shading a close game 93-88, but Sharks took the league points when they met in Sheffield last month with a 79-70 victory.
The teams also met in the group stage of the BBL Trophy, with each team winning on their own court. Rocks took the initiative in the group with an 85-80 win in late December, only for Sharks to gain revenge with a 77-66 victory at the EIS three weeks later.
Game tip-off is at 7.30pm and quarterly updates can be found right here!
Lets Go Rocks!
Posted on 17 April, 2009
