Eagles 97-85 Giants

Manchester took their brand of basketball to the North East as they traveled to the toon to take on the Newcastle Eagles in the latest round of British Basketball League Championship action. 

Both teams were heading into tonight looking to change their fortunes around in the domestic leagues. Manchester we’re coming into this game off the back of a loss against the Sheffield Sharks whilst Newcastle fell short against Leicester and we’re heading into this tie looking to bounce back. 

Eagle eyed viewers and followers of British basketball would have noticed a familiar face dawning the black and gold of Newcastle. Former Manchester Giant, team of the year forward and walking double double Tajh Green took on his former team for the first time since his transfer from north west to north east. 

Tonight’s game also saw the return of Manchester Giant William Lee. The Giants big man racked up his first minutes of the 2023/24 season this evening and did so in style as well as he managed to contribute 9 points on 40% from the field and even 4 rebounds off the bench and in limited minutes. 

A game where no team could pull away from another as both matched each other shot for shot, block for block and turnover for turnover. A real free flowing game in the first two quarters followed up by a defensive lockdown in quarters 3 and 4. After scoring 51 in the first 2 quarters, Newcastle managed to hold the Giants to a total of 34 points throughout the next 2 quarters. Whilst allowing star players like Jordan Johnson, Ricky McGill and Joshua Ward-Hibbert to combine for 64 of Newcastle’s 97 points this evening. 

There were some positives to take away from this game however. The main noticeable improvement from Manchester was their rebounding, a total of 40 rebounds tonight from Brian Semonian’s men as they outrebounded the Eagles overall as well as in offensive rebounds as the Giants lived up to their namesake and crashed the offensive glass 15 separate times. 

There were a handful of very solid performances across the board for Manchester as well as 5 double digit scorers. Nicholas Lewis led the team with 16 points as well as a smooth 4 rebounds and 2 assists whilst Nick Stampley finished on 15 points with 7 rebounds as well as a steal and a block down the stretch. Jalen Harris finished on 11 points whilst Legend Robertin and Evan Walshe followed suit with 10 points each. 

A big double header next week and an opportune time for the Giants to pick themselves up and dust themselves off as they travel to Bristol November 17th and later travel back to Manchester to host the London Lions on November 19th. 

Bristol versus Manchester will tip off November 17th at 7:30pm and will be available to stream via the British Basketball League YouTube channel. 

All highlights from tonight's action packed fixture will be available to view below: