London Lions continue BBL Championship campaign with another big game on Thursday as they travel to Manchester Giants.
Giants are currently second in the BBL table with an 11-8 record while Lions are in fifth place, two wins behind Manchester but with five games in hand. A victory on Thursday would give Lions the head-to-head decider between the teams if they finish with the same league record as a 30-point haul – which included six three-pointers – from Dirk Williams helped hosts London to a 107-80 home win when the sides met in December.
The teams also met in the north west six weeks ago with Lions progressing to the BBL Trophy semi-final with a 90-79 victory, Williams again proving to be a thorn in Giants’ side with a 28-point haul.
Lions’ captain Justin Robinson knows what to expect from the Giants:
“We played them recently and they’re a very good team” he said.
“They have Dan Clark and Josh Steele who we obviously know from London, while [Tyrik] Armstrong has been really good for them recently. They’re well coached by Lloyd [Gardner] and are a well-rounded team who will be well-prepared and will be up for it after beating Leicester last week.”
Lions’ coach James Vear is looking forward to coaching against his friend and former colleague Gardner:
“Obviously I know Lloyd well, having coached with his for six years, and it’ll be good to see him” he said.
“We know each other’s game, and Manchester are one of the better teams in the league. They have some good players and it isn’t going to be easy game, especially with our current injury situation.”
Armstrong leads Gardner's team 16.2 points, adding 5.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds. GB captain Clark - son of Lions' WBBL coach Mark - leads Giants in rebounds with 7.9 per game, adding 12.8 points, 3.2 assists and 1.5 blocks in 26.1 minutes per game while another veteran Brit, Jamell Anderson chips in with10.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
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