Plymouth City Patriots host Surrey Scorchers in the British Basketball League for the second time this season on Sunday.
And both teams come into this game the same as how they came into their previous meeting back on October 29 and that is coming off defeats.
But when they met at the Plymouth Pavilions, they put on a show as the Scorchers needed overtime to win 110-105.
South Sudan international Padiet Wang played the pantomime villain as he scored 15 of his team-high 22 points in the final six minutes with Taylor Johnson’s 24 not enough.
Both teams – like they did when they met – are still in the bottom two even though Surrey had a brief spell in eighth spot, until they lost 87-100 on Saturday to Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles.
The Patriots remain at the bottom after they suffered a more agonising loss, as they lost 91-90 to the Manchester Giants on Friday.
Despite Nicholas Lewis missing foul shots, giving Plymouth a chance to win it, Elvisi Dusha fluffed his lines, giving Manchester the victory.
Basketball is a game of fine margins and that was typical of it. However, there is no time to reflect for both sides as they move forward to Sunday’s vital match-up.
Taylor vs. Padiet
On an individual level, Taylor Johnson has been in sublime form for the Patriots, but he would certainly trade that for wins right now.
The evergreen American is fourth in the British Basketball League for scoring at 17.1 points a game, shooting 45.1% from the field.
The same could be said about Wang, who played a huge part in the Scorchers win in Plymouth last time out.
Wang currently averages 11 points a game along with 5.9 rebounds and despite having to adjust to point guard in the last few games, has shown his versatility and has even helped the Scorchers to two wins out of four.
This could be a key battle down at the Pavilions.
Not much separates the two sides except…
Both teams are fairly even statistically going into what will be an intriguing contest.
However the telling stat is that Plymouth are the lowest scoring team on average in the British Basketball League, scoring 77.9 points a game, while Surrey fare better at an average of 81.7 points a game.
The Scorchers are a high-volume shooting team, and that’s reflective as they take more three-point attempts than any other side with 11.2 shots from long range.
On the flip side, Plymouth only take six shots from deep, so maybe it’s a case of playing to your strengths as Plymouth love to attack the hoop and are considerably better than their counterparts.
The Patriots are ranked fourth in two-point percentage at 51.7%, whereas Surrey are just 48.1%.
With the season here, you can still get your British Basketball fix by following the League on social media or heading to our YouTube channel to relive all of the best moments from the current season.
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