A first BBL Championship win since New Year’s Day leads to a pair of All-Star 5 representatives for Surrey Scorchers, as recent American acquisition Josh McFolley becomes the 50th different player to feature in the weekly team this season.
Padiet Wang – Surrey Scorchers
Beating Caledonia Gladiators at Surrey Sports Park on Saturday was a first league win in 10 games for Scorchers, a third overall this campaign, and leads to a third All-Star 5 appearance for South Sudan international Padiet Wang. He was eyeing up a triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, shooting 10-13 (76%) at the free-throw line as he proved hard to stop going to the rim throughout the contest. Scorchers poured in 35 first quarter points and never trailed, Wang scoring 12 with four assists in that spell, before a pair of key rebounds and assists late in the game as Gladiators got back to within one shot.
Josh Sharma – London Lions
It’s 15 straight BBL Championship wins for the league-leading London Lions after beating Leicester Riders live on Sky Sports and then Caledonia Gladiators at the Copper Box Arena in a double-header, with British big Josh Sharma key in both games to make his third All-Star 5 showing and second in four weeks. Against Gladiators on Sunday, he scored 19 points on 8-11 (72%) shooting in under 24 minutes, with six rebounds and three blocks, including three dunks among seven points, two boards and two blocks in the opening seven minutes as Lions hit an early 11-1 run before winning all four quarters.
Josh McFolley – Surrey Scorchers
Detroit native Josh McFolley has added significant firepower to the Scorchers since joining in February from professional campaigns in Kosovo and Slovakia, and has wasted little time in making his first All-Star 5 appearance, becoming the 50th different player to feature this season. Like his backcourt partner, he scored 25 points on 8-14 (57%) shooting and 6-7 (85%) at the free-throw line, with three assists, two rebounds and two steals, including five points in an 8-0 start that set the tone for Surrey as they never relinquished that lead, before adding four points and two assists down the stretch.
Rahmon Fletcher – Manchester Giants
Manchester Giants scored a big road win at Bristol Flyers on Sunday to make it three league victories on the bounce and moved up to fourth in the BBL Championship table, led by former league MVP point guard Rahmon Fletcher as he makes his second All-Star 5 appearance, but first since week two of the season. Playing all 40 minutes, he scored 21 points on 8-14 (57%) shooting and was just shy of a double-double with nine assists, including 10 points in two minutes as part of a 22-3 surge as Giants performed a huge third quarter turnaround, Fletcher adding three assists in that spell.
Vojtech Hruban – London Lions
Czech international sharpshooter Vojtech Hruban is the all-time leading scorer in the Basketball Champions League and continues his startling efficiency in his first BBL season, leading to a third All-Star 5 appearance, but first for ten weeks. Against Caledonia, he had a game-high 21 points in just 20 minutes on 4-5 (80%) interior shooting and 4-7 (57%) from the three-point line, with two assists and two steals, including seven points in four first quarter minutes off the bench as his triple gave Lions a double-figure lead to end the first period.
Off the bench: Malcolm Smith (Derby Trailblazers), Thomas Bell (Bristol Flyers), Malcolm Delpeche (Bristol Flyers), Sa’eed Nelson (B. Braun Sheffield Sharks), Kyle Johnson (Newcastle Eagles), Nick Lewis (Manchester Giants), Will Neighbour (Cheshire Phoenix).
