Manchester and Bristol took the stage once again tonight as north and south collided for this round of British Basketball League action. 

Coach Kapoulas and Coach Semonian readied their squads for battle once again. The last time these two teams locked horns it was a thriller at the national basketball performance centre that saw Bristol snatch the spoils of war in a tightly contested fixture. 

The Manchester Giants are once again looking for their third win of the season after a close but out of reach contest against the Newcastle Eagles last week. Bristol are flying high in 3rd place but suffering a slight setback last week after being grounded by the Surrey Scorchers. Both teams will be looking to turn their fortunes around tonight. 

Jamell Anderson got the Giants started off with a bang! A three ball from the left elbow that was nothing but net. Anderson struck again early doors, the GB forward went coast to coast and even drew the foul. Tevin Olison hit a pair of quick threes on back to back possessions to give the Flyers their first lead of the evening.

It was a fast paced and intense opening 10 minutes, both teams looked to fire off shots early and heat checking themselves to see what might land after being tied up 15 a piece with 7 minutes played. A close affair this first quarter as the Giants trailed by 4 but with plenty of basketball left to play. 

The Giants were kept quiet offensively in the second quarter as the Flyers held them to 11 points in 10 minutes of play. Manchester made 5 shots of their 17 attempts in the quarter as they also went 0/4 from beyond the arc. The Giants throughout the first half also only converted 33% of their attempts from the free throw line. As a result of this, the Flyers led by 15 at the end of the second quarter. 

Second half: 

The Giants play left the Flyers unable to answer as they went on a 9 point run to claw back ground on their opponents. The third quarter became the turning point in the game for the Manchester Giants, key offensive sets allowed the team to break down the Flyers defence within the final 5 minutes of play and convert a 17 point deficit into a 4 point deficit and an entertaining ball game for all to watch. Key efficient shooting from Manchester allowed them to break down the lead as they went 10/19 from the field in the quarter and held the Flyers to 18 points 

A dry spell struck in Bristol as the Flyers struggled to get anything going on the offensive side in the fourth quarter. With this, Manchester began to capitalise as they went on a 14-0 scoring run in order to not only bring themselves on level terms but also to take the lead with 8 minutes left. Manchester began to solidify their defence in order to preserve their lead and managed to close out and secure their 3rd win of the season. 

Stats: 

Nicholas Lewis: 23 Points, 4 Rebounds.

Jamell Anderson: 14 Points, 8 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 3 Steals.

William Lee: 19 Points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Steals. 

Part 1 of this weekend’s double header resulted in a win and the Manchester Giants will be looking to continue this momentum into their next game at home against the league leaders the London Lions. Tip off is Sunday 19th November at 3:00pm and will be followed up by the Manchester Giants Women’s team as they face off against the Sheffield Hatters at 6:00pm. 

All game footage from tonight's road win will be available to view below: