BBL Championship
Manchester Giants 105-102 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (2OT) (33-21, 58-42, 67-58, 83-83, 91-91)
(Giants: Williams, 31; Lee, 23; Green, 13 — Sharks: Nelson, 33; Banks Jr. 17; Ogunyemi, 16)
Cheshire Phoenix 71-78 Plymouth City Patriots (12-17, 32-38, 50-61)
(Phoenix: Anderson, 21; Strawberry, 13; Ochereobia, 10– Patriots: Williams, 27; Brandon/Simons, 12; Hawthorne, 10)
Manchester Giants survived double overtime to score an exhilarating 105-102 win over B. Braun Sheffield Sharks at the National Basketball Performance Centre on Sunday.
Leading by as many as 21 points, Manchester failed to ice the game in regulation, allowing Sheffield to fight back.
A long two from Kipper Nichols with 8.9 seconds left tied the game at 83-83, with Rahmon Fletcher unable to do anything in the final seconds, forcing overtime.
With nothing to separate the two sides in the first overtime, Manchester finally broke clear for good with 41 seconds left in the second extra period as a basket from William Lee plus split foul shots from Dirk Williams sealed the win.
Nichols tried to repeat his heroics late in the fourth, but he missed his three in the dying seconds.
Dirk Williams led the way with 31 points, including six three-pointers with Lee adding 23 along with 13 rebounds and two blocks for the Giants who swatted away a total of nine shot attempts.
Racing out to a 13-0 start, Manchester connected on nine of their first 10 shots as Sheffield struggled to find any offensive rhythm, thanks to two blocks from Lee and one from Anthony Robertson in that spell.
A three from Channel Banks Jr. seemed to settle any nerves for the Sharks as both teams seemed happy to throw long-range shots – and connecting on the majority – as 11 triples were netted in the first with the hosts up 33-21.
Scores from former Shark Nick Lewis and Robertson kept Manchester’s double-digit advantage intact, as both teams encountered heat checks from deep.
But the deadly combination of Williams and Lee saw a giant leap in the lead as they hit a three and a lay-up, respectively to give the hosts a 52-32 lead with 3:15 left in the half.
Malcolm Delpeche and Kipper Nichols kept Sheffield interested, but Manchester led 58-42 at the break.
Williams stayed dialled in as he connected on a mid-range jumper to maintain the hosts double-digit advantage early in the third, along with a slam, but Sheffield were starting to threaten.
And as the quarter wound down, four quick points from Saeed Nelson,…
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