BBL Team Of The Week – Week 18

It was a landmark weekend as one player provided the best performance valuation of the season.

Brice Fantazia (Glasgow Rocks)

It’s a debut appearance in our line-up for the Rocks’ guard after he posted his best performance of what is now his second stint with the Scottish club last weekend. Fantazia was certainly the main man against One Health Sharks Sheffield and helped the Rocks take a victory with a nicely balanced and efficient inside-outside scoring pattern which helped him harvest 17 points. He also added five rebounds, but his most impressive contribution was to dish up an excellent eight assists to his grateful team-mates.

Joe Chapman (Newcastle Eagles)

It was the man nicknamed ‘Mighty Joe’ who came up with the best statistical performance of the entire BBL season last Friday night when he tortured One Health Sharks Sheffield. He amassed a mind-blowing performance valuation of 45 after a stunning 41 point haul, accumulated off the back of no fewer than a staggering ten converted triples. He was also not too far away from what would have been a spectacular triple double since he also added nine rebounds and eight assists. It was quite a way to return to the BBL Team Of The Week after an all too long 11 week absence.

Charles Smith (Newcastle Eagles)

It’s a second appearance of the season for the Eagles’ forward who also featured during week 10. He played a fine cameo alongside his team-mate Joe Chapman in the victory against the Sharks. Also fuelled by the painful BBL Cup Final loss against Leicester during the previous weekend, Smith took out his frustration on the visiting team with 22 points. He also found joy from behind the three-point line with four triples and completed a double-double with 13 rebounds in addition to a handy five assists.

David Watts (Manchester Giants)

The Giants’ big man secures a third appearance of the season in our starting five after producing a fine contribution to help his team take a valuable success against Surrey Heat. It was one of the best team displays and results of the season for Jeff Jones and his Manchester players, with Watts at the heart of everything worthy of cheering. He could barely miss on a red-hot shooting night, making six of seven inside and adding a couple of triples for good measure. That meant he finished with 21 points and only missed out on a double-double by a solitary rebound.

Javarris Barnett (UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders)

On all but two weeks of the entire season, the performance of the Raiders’ forward would have been head and shoulders above anything else posted and the best display of the weekend. However, he unfortunately produced his most inspiring display on the same weekend as the monumental effort of Chapman. Still, to reach the landmark performance valuation of 40 is quite an achievement and he joins a small exclusive club as a result. Barnett had an outstanding double-double of 30 points and 11 rebounds in a classic encounter with Manchester Giants, making nine of his eleven shots from the floor.

Off The Bench – Anthony Rowe (Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders), Stan Ocitti (Worcester Wolves), Ralph Bucci (Durham Wildcats), Mike Tuck (One Health Sharks Sheffield), Stefan Gill (Manchester Giants), Ben Eaves (Manchester Giants)