Manchester Basketball fell 90-71 in the Super League Basketball Cup Final to the Sheffield Hatters.

They battled wire-to-wire in front of their home crowd in Manchester’s AO Arena, but fell one game short of the silverware in the final.

Tiarra East led the game with an emphatic performance. She had 23 points and 4 rebounds, playing with infectious tenacity from wire-to-wire with her drives to the hoop. She finished with an index rating of 18 after going 10-21 from the field.

Irene Oboavwoduo also impressed, scoring 16 points and draining two triples, as she tried to spark a Manchester comeback in the second half.

And despite Manchester starting the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, key Sheffield buckets shut the door on what would have been a dramatic comeback for the team.

Manchester’s threes wouldn’t drop throughout, which ultimately stopped them going bucket-for-bucket with the reigning Playoff and Trophy champions.

They went 5-26 in the game. But they battled through contact for all 40 minutes, getting to the foul line to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Sheffield bolted out the gates to build a double-digit lead in the first, but Manchester dug deep and bounced back in a breathless second quarter. A Jori Davis triple cut it to a one score game at 33-35.

They weren’t able to snatch the lead back in the second, and Sheffield’s response saw them lead by 20 in the third. And despite a late run from Manchester, it proved to be an insurmountable deficit.

They fell short in the Final, but this incredible Cup run has provided a strong foundation for Manchester to build on in the rest of the SLB season.

Next, they take on the London Lions on Sunday, March 29 at 6:00 pm at the National Basketball Performance Centre. You can get your tickets here!

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