by Vlad Ionasc
Cheshire Phoenix will look for their fourth consecutive win when they’ll meet the Bristol Flyers at the SGS College Arena on the 1st of February.
Saturday night’s fixture will mark the first meeting between the two sides in the 2019-20 season. Ben Thomas will have to manage his players carefully, as the Nix will face the Sheffield Sharks at home less than 24 hours after away in Bristol.
The Flyers will come into the game on good form, despite their recent loss against the Worcester Wolves in the BBL Cup Final. Andreas Kapoulas’ men have won four of their last five games and are undefeated at home since the 6th of December when they succumbed to 71-85 loss against Sheffield.
Fred Thomas is a great scorer and he can also shoot the rock at a high level. The American’s 19-points-per-game rank him second in scoring in the BBL, he’s also shooting 43.2% from three-point territory, on 7.4 attempts-per-game. Gentrey Thomas is also a good all-around player, as he leads Bristol in assists but is also averaging a healthy 14.8 points alongside 5.4 rebounds per game.
The Flyers pride themselves on having one of the best benches in the league. Their second-unit ranks third in scoring with 25.4 points-per-game. Bristol didn’t exhibit their greatest shooting display in the Cup Final, as they only made 34% of their attempts from the field. To give themselves the best chance of coming away with the win, the Nix will have to limit their opponents to a similar number on Saturday night.
Cheshire’s last win against the Glasgow Rocks was a nail-biter, an all-time classic and taking everything into account, one of the greatest victories in the club’s history. The Nix were extremely shorthanded as they only had seven players available for the fixture and to rub salt into the wound, they also had to go through two arduous overtime periods with just six men available after Parker Jackson-Cartwright fouled out late in the fourth quarter. The Nix will have to show the same heart and desire to win at all costs on Saturday night.
New signing Pharroh Gordon is expected to suit up for the Nix for the first time, while star forward Jalen Hayes is expected to be back in the Phoenix rotation after missing the last three games through injury.
BRING THE NOISE! GO PHOENIX!