Preview » Cheshire Phoenix v Bristol Flyers

Cheshire Phoenix are coming towards the end of their first full season following their shake up over summer. One of the major changes Cheshire made was promoting Ben Thomas to Head Coach.

Reinvigorated after the overhaul of personnel, Phoenix started the season with lofty hopes of returning to the Play-Offs. Cheshire currently occupy the ninth seed with a record of 12-16. 

Although Ben Thomas is relatively inexperienced as a Head Coach, promoting Thomas to the main coaching job has proven to be a good decision thus far. Thomas was recognised for his tremendous job by the BBL, as he won Coach of the Month honours in January.

Thomas also took Phoenix on an impressive run in the BBL Cup, defeating the Worcester Wolves in the BBL Cup final; making Thomas the first British coach to take home the BBL Cup in almost a decade. 

Cheshire Phoenix finished with a record of 11-22, which was good enough for tenth place in the BBL.

Despite their struggles in the domestic league, they did enjoy two deep runs in the BBL Cup and Trophy by reaching the quarter finals and semi finals, respectively.  

CJ Gettys has been integral to Cheshire’s success this season. The American played an important role in the ‘Nix BBL Cup run and scored 19 points in the final against Worcester Wolves. Gettys enters Friday night’s game averaging 17.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

Gettys’ inside presence may raise a few concerns for Nick Burns’ men, as Flyers may struggle to defend the paint with Daniel Edozie and Mike Vigor at the Commonwealth Games. 

Bristol Flyers took a huge stride forward in the race for the play-off places as they claimed the season series over the Cheshire Phoenix.

Jordan Davis led the way for Nick Burns' first win as acting Head Coach with 17 points on 100% shooting from the field.

Cheshire Phoenix rely on their starters more than any other team in the league, as they have the lowest scoring bench in the league with only 14.8 points per game.

Friday’s game will be available to watch for FREE via the BBC Sport Website. The game will also be shown LIVE on the big screen at Walkabout Bristol.