It was one of the gutsiest comebacks in Sharks’ history. Down by 17 late in the third quarter, the day after travelling 12 hours to get to Launceston, Tasmania, without the services of their American import guard, the Sharks dug deep to run down the Southern Huskies to claim their fifth win of the 2019 Sal’s NBL.
Their reward? Three games against the other three Top-Four teams on the NBL Ladder over the next seven days.
That’s the wonderful thing about this year’s NBL. The talent has lifted, the League is gaining in profile and there are no easy wins.
The Sharks are in Christchurch today to take on the Canterbury Rams (fours wins, two losses) in Horncastle Arena, venue for this year’s NBL Final Four series.
They fly home tomorrow morning to prepare for a battle with their old arch-rival the undefeated Wellington Saints on Sunday night, before the Hawke’s Bay Hawks arrive in town for a Thursday night clash in the Shark Tank.
The Sharks are still searching for consistency but will be buoyed by last week’s backs-to-the-wall win in Tasmania. Head Coach Judd Flavell is well aware of the challenge ahead of his charges over the next week.
“This weekend we have two quality teams in Canterbury and Saints and we are looking forward to that challenge which will give us a good measuring stick of where we are at. We’ve had our own challenges over recent weeks with players coming in and out and the travel schedule, but we will find out a lot about what this team is about over the next week,” Flavell said.
Tonight’s game in Christchurch will be streamed live via stuff.co.nz and on the Tribe Sports App, while tickets for Sunday’s game against the Saints are available from ILT Stadium Southland. Both games tip off at 7pm.
Image by Matt Powell Photography via Facebook