The Caledonia Gladiators hosted the Sheffield Sharks this Friday night in their final home game of the 2024/25 Super League Basketball Championship. The Gladiators fought hard, putting on a show for their fans but ultimately it would be the Sheffield Sharks that walked away with the win. The Gladiators lead for much of the game but the tides shifted towards the end of the third quarter and the Sharks took the lead in the fourth for the first time since early in the first quarter. A closely fought final quarter was filled with lead changes and hustle from both teams. The final score was 83 – 87 to the Sheffield Sharks.
The Sharks took a quick lead to start the game, scoring 8 unanswered points until the Gladiators were able to get themselves onto the scoreboard. The game would quickly be tied at 13 a piece, and the Gladiators took their first lead of the game and began to build a strong lead. Fahro Alihodzic put up 6 points to finish the first quarter, with threes from Captain Fraser Malcolm and Trevond Barnes putting the Gladiators up by 10-points to finish the first quarter of action at Playsport. The score at the end of the first quarter was 31 – 21.
Sheffield started the second quarter of action strong, determined to prevent the Gladiators from increasing their lead further. A 7-point scoring run put the game within 5 for the Sheffield Sharks early on in the second quarter, cutting the deficit in half. A quarter made at the free throw line for both teams, with a combined 15 attempts from the line, would see the stop and start game remain within a few possessions. The Gladiators were up by 6 with 2 minutes left in the first half and both teams would be unable to score in the closing minutes of the first half. The score for the quarter was 12 – 16 to the Sharks, cutting the Gladiators lead to 6-points.
The score at half-time was 43 – 37 to the Caledonia Gladiators.
Wanting to reclaim their double-digit lead, the Gladiators stormed out of the half-time break. The Gladiators quickly reclaimed their 10-point lead within a minute and a half of the second half at Playsport. Despite retaining their double-digit lead for the first five minutes of the second half, the Gladiators found themselves slipping to the Sharks, with the Sharks slowly chipping away at their lead through strong shooting at the free throw line and from behind the arc for three. The Sharks won the third quarter, 21 – 24 and cut the Gladiators lead to just three-points, keeping the game within a single possession.
With the game within touching distance, the Sharks took their first lead since the first quarter, putting up five straight points to take a 2-point lead to start the final quarter of action. The game would continue with both teams trading the lead, with the game being tied three times within just over a minute and both teams only able to take a one or two-point lead until the final 4 minutes of the game. The Sharks converted their opportunities from the free throw line to increase their lead, taking a four-point lead. In a game made from the free throw line, with a combined 49 attempts (Gladiators 17, Sharks 32), the Sharks took the win back home to Sheffield.
The score at the end of the game was 83 – 87 to the Sheffield Sharks. A valiant effort by our guys in blue tonight as they played their last home game of the season in front of a loud and supportive crowd. Thank you to all our fans for their support throughout the season, we look forward to having you back next season as the excitement continues with the Caledonia Gladiators at Playsport!
