British basketball has found its way back to the National Basketball Performance Centre as the Manchester Giants hosted the Surrey Scorchers. 

A lot has changed since these 2 teams last faced each other. Surrey have managed to steal wins from the likes of Sheffield and Bristol. Meanwhile, Manchester’s fortunes have been more askew as the team have not seen a win in 2024. 

Starting 5’s: 

Manchester Giants: Mason Bourcier, Nicholas Lewis, Jamell Anderson (C) , William Lee, Legend Robertin. 

Surrey Scorchers: Cameron Gooden, Josh Steel, Padiet Wang, Saquan Jamison, Abdul Mohammed. 

First half: 

Manchester and Surrey kept it close the first 5. Both teams played high level defence and forced the other into difficult shots in tough coverage. Even Jamell Anderson’s dunk where he made Padiet Wang his second child was highly contested by Scorchers Padiet Wang. After the media Break Surrey began to run away, Manchester turnovers on offence turned into fastbreak chances for Surrey who made them pay as the Scorchers built up to an 8 point lead. A 3 ball from Jamell Anderson saved some Manchester blunders. Surrey managed to pile on the pressure however, Quin Cooper hit from 3 and from the midrange to bring the Scorchers tally to 30. Outscoring Manchester by 11. 

Manchester’s problems persisted within the 2nd quarter. William Lee and Evan Walshe started Manchester off on a good note with a deep 2 and free throws. The well soon ran dry as Cooper and Mohamed put up a 3 ball each to restore the 11 point lead. Legend Robertin got a friendly roll for his 3rd make of the evening. Manchester would endure a 3 minute scoreless period until Jamell Anderson went 2/2 from the line. That would end the first half as Manchester saw themselves down by 10. 

Second half: 

A difficult opening minute of basketball as Surrey connected early doors and then Manchester turned the ball back over to Surrey for 2. Jalen Harris and Tayo Ogedengde traded 3’s before Jamell Anderson and William Lee hit a 3 ball each looking to cut down the Surrey lead. Another 3 from Ogedengbe followed by a Josh Steel and one kept Manchester’s backs firmly on the wall with an 18 point deficit. Manchester began to pick up the pace towards the end of the 3rd quarter. Despite being outscored in the game, they began to build momentum. 

That momentum carried over into the final quarter as Manchester went on a 5-0 scoring run and came as close as 7 before Surrey rallied. Lawrence and Wang took over whilst Cooper topped it off with a 3 to lead by 12. Evan Walshe replied with 3 of his own and Nick Stampley followed it up off a catch and shoot from beyond the arc. Shots from Nicholas Lewis and Evan Walshe found the bottom of the net before Scorchers Andrew Lawrence iced the game from 3 whilst Josh Steel put the final nail in the coffin. 

Stats: 

William Lee: 10 Points, 11 Rebounds, 3 Steals. 

Nicholas Lewis: 14 Points, 10 Rebounds, 6 Rebounds, 4 Steals.

Jamell Anderson: 19 Points, 5 Assists, 3 Steals. 

Evan Wlahse: 17 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2 Steals. 

Next up on the Manchester Giants calendar is another home game as the Giants host the Sheffield Sharks. Tip off is Monday April 1st and is scheduled for 6:00pm. 

The highlights from tonight’s fixture against Surrey will be available to view below: