Manchester Giants forward Nathan Schall is confident he and his teammates can beat Sheffield Sharks on Sunday if they echo their intensity from training.
After a terrible run which left them stranded at the bottom of the BBL ladder, Yorick Williams’ men have improved their performances in recent games.
However after a two week break since their last match, Schall will be looking forward to returning to the court, and believes confidence is key to victory.
“As a new and young team, confidence in our abilities as a team is important,” the Giants forward said.
“Our main focus will be on our defensive rotations.
“If we stick to both the offensive and defensive principles that we’ve put in place and bring the intensity we’ve been training with, we will perform well.”
Giants achieved two wins from three before being knocked out of the BBL Trophy by Esh Group Eagles Newcastle last time out, so they will be keen to return to winning ways.
They face a tough task against fourth place Sharks however, who enter the weekend off the back of six wins in a row.
They also have a fantastic record against the Manchester-side, having won the last five games between the teams.
The last of these meetings was in early November last year, in which the Sharks comfortably secured a 91-70 against the Giants at EIS Sheffield.
Nevertheless Yorick Williams’ men will be hopeful of putting in a strong performance at the Lucozade Trafford Sportsdome if they stick to a focused game plan.
“Sheffield play well as a unit and have a strong presence both inside and outside and move the ball well,” Schall explained.
“Being active on the boards will be important, and limiting second chance points.
“We’ve played them twice now so we are quite familiar with them, but the main thing we learned is that we actually match up well against them.”
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