The Plymouth City Patriots were in action over the weekend in their final game of the British Basketball League Trophy group stages. Despite playing well for large portions of the game, suffered their third agonising defeat of the campaign.
The Patriots hit the road on Saturday, heading north for Sheffield to take on the Sharks in a game that would only have pride on the line. Neither side could qualify for this weekend's final fours in Birmingham, however that didn't make the game any less competitive. The Patriots made an impressive start, taking the game to their opponents and getting the better of the early exchanges. New signing Cameron Copeland showed some of his potential and the visiting Patriots managed to take a double figure lead midway through the first half. The home side responded well however, and eradicate the lead by halftime. The Patriots matched the Sharks for the third quarter, setting up what should have been a classic finish to the game with the visitors holding a slight advantage. The home team had other ideas. Sheffield increased their intensity on both ends of the floor and managed to hold the Patriots to just 8 points in the final quarter, including the last three minutes, where the visitors went scoreless. The Sharks took the initiative and ran out winners, final score 77-73.
“We played some good basketball for 30 minutes,” started head coach Paul James. He continued “We gave ourselves a great opportunity heading into the fourth quarter, and just stopped sharing the ball and playing team basketball.”
The Patriots will be back on league duties after the weekend, playing out their remaining sixteen fixtures, and attempting to reach the postseason playoffs. They're not back at Pavilions until the 16th February, when they take on the Newcastle Eagles in the postponed fixture from earlier this season. Tickets are available here.
Pablo Cheeks