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Cheshire Phoenix vs Manchester Giants – Preview

by Vlad Ionasc

Cheshire Phoenix will strive for their second win in the BBL Cup when they’ll face off against the Manchester Giants at the George H. Carnall Centre on the 18th October.

Both teams have had a tough start in the Cup, the Giants still haven’t won a game while the Nix only secured their first win last week, against the Riders. This will be the first meeting between the two sides this season and the Nix will be hoping to triumph over their North West rivals.

The Giants will benefit from extra rest coming into the game, as they haven’t played since October 4th and were also not involved in the hectic All-Star competition on Sunday. They have been dominated in all of their games, having lost by 34 to the Sheffield Sharks, by 39 at the hands of the Leicester Riders and most recently by 22 points to the Glasgow Rocks.

Manchester will be there for the taking on Friday night, but Danny Bryne’s team does posses a dangerous player that the Nix will have to slow down. Last time out against the Rocks, Giants guard Jonathan Mulmore put up a cool 31 points on an efficient 50% FG. Mulmore also connected on five three-point attempts that night. Phoenix’s opponents have had a short rotation so far, meaning they’ve been starved of bench productivity.

Cheshire will come into the game determined to leave Sunday’s unfortunate events behind them. They will be boosted by Ben Mockford’s return to the line-up, while Momcilo Latinovic could also feature, providing he recovers in time. The Nix will need to play suffocating defence, just like they did against Leicester and limit the three-point makes from the hosts to give themselves the best chance of coming away with the win.

Ben Thomas’ men must also win the rebounding battle. Michael Ochereobia will be tasked with crashing the glass and dominating the paint. Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Louis Sayers and Ben Mockford will have to continue to make shots from three-point land as the Nix could create a comfortable cushion for themselves early on in the game and cruise to a win against a depleted Manchester side.

BRING THE NOISE! GO PHOENIX!

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