Marcus Delpeche hoping to go one better in BBL Cup as Sheffield Sharks welcome Caledonia Gladiators

Sheffield’s 29-year-old 6ft 7in power forward from Delaware has the chance to move towards putting that right when Sharks welcome Caledonia Gladiators in the quarter-final on the BBL Cup on Sunday.

Those who like their omens will point to the fact Delpeche reached a BBL Cup final with Bristol in his second season at the club and this is his second campaign with the Sharks, but he knows it will take more than that.

Three years ago his unfancied Flyers lost in the final to a similarly unheralded Worcester Wolves team led by former Leeds Force coach Matt Newby.

“ Losing leaves a salty taste in your mouth , but while I was in Bristol it was nice to see the club come together and at least get to that point,” he said. "We fell short but at least it showed progress from where we’d been when I first went to the club, then getting to the Cup final in my second season."

What chance do Sheffield have of replicating the feat, or maybe even going one better, as they seek a first trophy since winning the play-offs in 2016?

“I would love to go all the way, we have all the pieces, we have a great coach, it’s a great organisation, our defence is exactly where it needs to be and offensively we’re coming together, so hopefully we can get the job done,” he said.

“The last time we made a deep run was a while back, so now is the perfect time to move that forward.”

Standing in their way are the Caledonia Gladiators, formerly Glasgow Rocks, long-established rivals of the Sharks who thrashed champions Leicester Riders in the BBL Championship on Wednesday night.

"Sheffield historically has always been a defensively-sound club, especially these past two seasons against higher-scoring teams so that bodes well for us,” said Delpeche, pictured.

"With them beating Leicester by 28 points it will be a good chance for us to try and shut their momentum down.

"It comes down to us keeping our concentration.”