SHARKS WIN THRILLING BBL CUP FINAL
01/17/2010

The Sheffield Sharks picked up this season's first piece of BBL silverware today, with an 89-86 win over the Cheshire Jets in the Cup final.

After leading by 8 at the half, the Sharks managed to pull away after the break to establish a 16 point lead. But an amazing comeback - sparked by the Jets' James Hamilton - had the Cheshire fans in a frenzy.

However, Paul Peterson blew the chance to reduce the gap to a single point with just 26 seconds left, as he missed two straight free throws. The Sharks' Perry Lawson, meanwhile, stroked 3 of 4 from the line in the dying seconds to ensure victory for Sheffield.

Despite being on the losing team, Hamilton's efforts were recognised as he was named MVP.

Sharks player-coach Atiba Lyons said: "Chester made it tough for us in the final quarter but we are delighted to get our hands on some silverware."

Scorers
Jets: Hamilton 24, Marks 22, Gayle 14
Sharks: Cook & Patton 19, Toney & Tuck 13

In the day's other game, the Worthing Thunder made light work of the EBL's Manchester Magic - beating them 109-72. Magic guard Sefan Gill put in work though - dropping 33 of his team's 72 points. David "TinTin" Watts was also impressive with 19.

It was the first time a non-BBL team has made it to the Trophy final, so the lop-sided result was perhaps to be expected. But Magic coach Jeff Jones was not impressed.

"Maybe some of them were a little over-awed by the occasion, but I was disappointed - not with the result, but with the effort some of them put in," he said.

"We had to rely heavily on Stefan and Watts and they did great, but we didn't do enough overall.

"The gap between us and them isn't as big as that scoreline suggests, we didn't play well."


Finally, there was absolutely no surprise as Milton Keynes Lion Guy Dupuy shut down the dunk contest - scoring a perfect 30 out of 30 on EVERY SINGLE ONE of his jams!

Video coming in the next day or two, right here on 24/7.