A triple-double from Great Britain guard Teddy Okereafor went unrewarded as Cheshire Phoenix were beaten 92-91 in a thriller against Manchester Giants in the first North West derby of the new BBL Championship season on Sunday.
The Giants had come up second best against Sheffield Sharks earlier in the weekend, while the defending league champion Leicester Riders overcame the play-off-winning Newcastle Eagles behind a standout performance from Zach Jackson as the BBL returned to SportNews.
Cheshire's Teddy Okereafor posted 17 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists in addition to four steals, but it wasn't enough to edge past the Giants.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Levi Bradley threatened a turnaround from the hosts only for Manchester to hold on having won each of the previous three quarters by slim margins.
Martaveous McKnight led the scoring for the Giants with 24 points, followed by Josh Steel (16) and Jamell Anderson (14). Tyrik Armstrong contributed a double-double of 12 points and ten assists, finishing four rebounds away from the second triple-double of the game.
Cheshire forward Bradley led the entire game in scoring with 25, his performance including plenty of highlight reel-worthy plays, while Namon Wright also provided 24 points of his own.
Next up for both teams is a Bonfire Night clash each, with Cheshire travelling to face London Lions and Manchester due to host Sheffield.
It was the Riders who edged the battle of two likely title contenders as Rob Paternostro's BBL Championship-winning outfit saw off the always-dangerous Eagles 101-73 on Friday night.
The Eagles had started the brighter of the two and entered the second quarter up 22-20, prompting a stern response from Leicester that saw them pour in 31 points to Newcastle's 13 in the second to open up a 16-point advantage heading into the break.
They added a further 27 in the third to enter the final quarter up 78-58 before extending their lead to see out a comfortable win.
Zach Jackson starred for Riders, the American finishing with 26 points, four rebounds and five assists in an MVP performance. Corey Johnson was the standout player for the Eagles with 22 points and four rebounds.
The Sharks put in a dominant performance to blow past Manchester in the opening night's other game.
The home side opened up a five-point cushion to finish the first quarter with a 28-23 lead, which they stretched to 26 points at 77-51 by the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Kipper Nichols led the scoring charts for the Sharks as he finished with a game-high 20 points, while Will Saunders scored 13 in a team-high performance for the Giants.
The BBL action continues with the London Lions against the Cheshire Phoenix live on SportNews Mix and Arena from 7.30pm on Friday, November 5.
