Sharks vs City Of Birmingham

31st Jan 2010

All Saints - Sheffield - 1.15pm

Sharks 24 41 65 83

COB 14 28 52 76

The tenacious and athletic City of Birmingham arrived at All Saints confident after a recent run of good results. The Sharks were well aware of the threat posed by the Midlanders and expected a tough game.

Sheffield started the contest well, their pressure defence causing Birmingham problems if not stopping them completely. In addition there were signs that the Sharks’ offense is finally clicking as some beautiful basketball was on display, leading to open lay-ups and jump shots all over the floor. George Brownell was often on the end of this ball movement showing he has developed into a deadly shooter (75% 2pt FG, 43% 3pt FG, 100% FT). Jonni Shepherd’s quick thinking on an out of bounds play closed the stanza with an easy 2.

There was more good play from the home team in the 2nd period, Renny & Conor doing a solid job of distributing the ball and Josh Adams ability to attack off the dribble helped to open things up for others. Highlight of the stanza came in the form of an athletic put-back dunk from Sheu Matewe; George’s lay-up attempt would almost certainly have rolled back in regardless but Sheu took full advantage of FIBA rules and slammed the ball home as it bounced around the rim just to be sure! Despite the Sharks pulling away, Birmingham did enough to make sure they were not out of sight going into the locker room.

The juniors form dropped a little to begin the 2nd half which gave the visitors a chance to cut the gap. Sheffield responded well with more good ball movement although a tendency to over-dribble was beginning to emerge. Whilst maintaining a lead, the sharks could not seem to stretch the gap beyond 12 points. A strong start to the 4th should finish the game off.

This did not materialise. I can only assume the Sheffield boys considered the game to be over as they stopped playing from this point onward. Poor defensive rotation, bad passing and poor decision making on offense gave a quality side like Birmingham the opportunity to mount a comeback featuring a 12-0 run cutting the gap to 2 points. George was fouled shooting a triple and calmly sank all 3 free throws to give his team a 5 point cushion. Finally the Sharks got a stop on the defensive end and a further 2 free throws from Conor sealed the victory.

Despite some positive improvements offensively, the lack of concentration and intensity in the 2nd half leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. This team has yet to put together a complete performance this season and with two tough games next weekend, including a cup semi-final against two-time National Champions Milton Keynes, their luck may be about to run out.

George Brownell: 30pts, 10 rebs, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 blk

Josh Adams: 17pts, 5 rebs, 5 assists, 4 steals

Renny Nascimento: 16pts; 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 reb

Conor Faulkner: 11pts, 5 assists, 4 rebs, 2 steals

Sheu Matewe: 4pts, 3 rebs

Quincy Kaka: 3pt, 8 rebs, 3 steals, 2 assists

Jonni Shepherd: 2pts

Aidan Appleyard: 2 assists

Zach Fenech: 2 rebs

Trent Woodward

Nathan Suttle: DNP, coaches decision

Callum McKenzie: DNP, injury

Henryk Krajniewski: DNP, injury