A Boxing Day classic for the British Basketball League fans this year as the Manchester Giants traveled up to East Kilbride to take on the Caledonia Gladiators. 

Both teams are heading into this fixture at opposite ends of the standings with Caledonia flying high in 2nd whilst Manchester are battling for survival at 9th. 

Despite the differing positions, both teams have similar fortunes in recent times, both Manchester and Caledonia are coming off the back of losses from Leicester and Plymouth respectively. 

It started as a close affair in the opening few minutes. Manchester and Caledonia went blow for blow with little to separate the two sides. It was only after the commercial break that Caledonia began to create some distance through consistent scoring from 2 point range. Couple this with a plethora of free throws and Caledonia saw themselves up by 8.

Manchester's problems only persisted as multiple scoreless possessions from the Giants gave Caledonia the opportunity to move ahead into a double digit lead 2 minutes into the 2nd quarter. With just 2/8 from beyond the arc, 66% from the charity stripe and 7 turnovers to Caledonia’s 1, it was looking to be a long afternoon for the Giants who found themselves down by 25 at the half. 

Second half: 

Manchester needed a big performance in the 3rd quarter to bounce back and compete once more in this game. This was not the case unfortunately as William Lee, Nicholas Lewis and Nick Stampley were the 3 giants to score in the 3rd quarter as they combined for 10 points in 10 minutes of play Manchester’s turnovers woes continued as they managed to more than double their turnovers with 8 in the space of 10 minutes. As a result, the Giants were down 41 heading into the final quarter. 

Despite the writing already on the wall, Manchester’s final quarter of basketball was the best they played all afternoon. The now 6-15 Giants managed to outscore the firmly second place Gladiators 24-16. Despite the positive quarter of action the result was too far gone for any comeback as Manchester headed back south without a win in 3 games.

Stats:

Jamell Anderson: 12 Points, 100%FT. 

Nicholas Lewis: 10 Points, 9 Rebounds, 6 Assists.

Next up on the giants calendar is an away trip across to Ellesmere Port  to visit their rivals the 3rd place Cheshire Phoenix on Friday 29th December with tip off scheduled at 19:30. The game will also be available to stream via the British Basketball League YouTube channel. 

All highlights from this afternoon's game will be available to view below: