by Vlad Ionasc
Cheshire Phoenix will look for their second consecutive win in the BBL Championship when they’ll welcome the Bristol Flyers to the EPSV for the regular season home opener.
GAME DETAILS
Date: Sunday 6th December, 2020
Tip-off: 5 p.m.
Competition: BBL Championship
Where: EPSV (behind-closed-doors)
How to watch: FREE on BBL Player
The BBL Player is the new one-stop-shop for all BBL action as you can watch every club and every game (excluding Bristol’s home games) live and on-demand for £19.99 per month.
Because of how the BBL is structured, all the money from the BBL Player goes directly to the clubs, so make sure to select the Cheshire Phoenix as your ‘club to support’ when registering, as all the revenue will help carry the club through this incredibly difficult period of financial insecurity.
FLYERS SCOUTING REPORT
Last time out, the Flyers defeated the Nix 86-78 in Phoenix’s first 2020/21 pre-season game.
Since then, Bristol bolstered their backcourt by adding Great Britain international Teddy Okereafor on a short-term contract.
Bristol forfeited their BBL Cup games against the Surrey Scorchers due to coronavirus implications, however, Andreas Kapoulas’ side managed to advance through to the quarter-final stage of the competition after obtaining a couple of road wins against the Plymouth Raiders and Worcester Wolves.
The Flyers have adopted a conservative style of play this season, as no team has touched the 70-point mark against them.
Kapoulas’ men opened their regular season campaign with a 59-66 loss against the Manchester Giants on Friday night.
KEY PLAYERS
Bristol Flyers: Zach Copeland – Last time out, the former Illinois State guard torched the Nix with a 22-point, 9 assist performance. Copeland made 42% of his shots from 3-point distance and also added five rebounds and two steals. The 6-foot-4 guard turned the ball over on eight occasions, but now that the more experienced Okereafor is in charge of running the offense, Copeland will focus primarily on making as many shots as possible, and that’s something that he excels at.
Cheshire Phoenix: Jimbo Lull – The 7-foot center provided instant impact against the Sheffield Sharks and Ben Thomas will be looking for more of the same from Lull on Sunday night. Bristol’s tallest player is Daniel Edozie, and at just 6-foot-8, he’s no match for Phoenix’s big-man. The Flyers got crushed on the boards in their loss against the Giants, with 6-foot-8 Breaon Brady hauling down a game-high 12 boards (five offensive), so Lull must replicate that sort of performance for the Nix to obtain their second win in the BBL Championship.
COACH’S CORNER
Ben Thomas: “Today’s game against Bristol will be very tough. They are a very physical team and we will have to have a great team performance to break them down!
“We had a great first outing on Thursday but we have to now focus on protecting our home court!’
NEXT HOME GAME
The Nix will welcome the star-studded London Lions to the EPSV on the 13th of December!