Sheffield Sharks have no margin for error in double-header with Manchester Giants

Sharks suffered a blow in their quest to secure fourth and home-court advantage in the first round of the play-offs when they were beaten 88-85 by Leicester Riders - one of their closest rivals in the middle of the British Basketball League pack - at the Canon Medical Arena on Friday night.

Teddy Allen threatened to run away with the game with 27 points in the first half for Leicester as they built a 10-point lead that Jalon Pipkins cut to five with a three-pointer on the buzzer.

Sharks then managed to keep free-scoring Allen to just two more points in the second half as Devearl Ramsey (23 points), Malek Green (19) and Pipkins (17) kept Sheffield in contention for what would have been a priceless win.

Now captain Rodney Glasgow Jnr is challenging his players to stay dialled in against a Giants team on Monday night whose own hopes of play-off qualification are all but extinguished.

“We’re going to have to be switched on because we haven’t been the best away from home,” said the 31-year-old point guard of a Sharks team that has won just four of 16 games on the road this season.

“I feel like anyone we play at their court is a challenge because anybody can beat anybody on any given night in this league, so it doesn’t matter about the record - every game is important.

“We have to come out and stay focused and look at the bigger picture, which is that we have to get the win to keep this momentum going that we’ve been building.

“We cannot disrespect any team’s record, Manchester have some good players, it’s just been a rough season for them.”