THE Geelong Supercats stand in the way of the Symes Motors Bendigo Braves first South East Australian Basketball League championship.
The SEABL championship game is only in its infancy having replaced the Australian Basketball Association national finals, which the Braves won in 2005.
Tonight’s battle pits the east conference champion Braves and south conference champion Supercats on a neutral venue at Melbourne Sports Aquatic Centre.
While the Braves celebrated last weekend’s east conference championship win, tonight’s title fight has been the centre of attention all week.
“Winning the east conference grand final was huge for the club and we celebrated on Saturday night, but we had our focus back on as soon as we got back to training,’’ Braves coach Ben Harvey said yesterday.
“To the players credit, training this week has been very good and they’re keen to finish the season on a high.
“If we lose will we be disappointed? Absolutely.
“We want to win this as much as we did last week’s game.
“Opportunities like this don’t come around year and we have a chance to win the SEABL’s number one title for Bendigo for the first time.”
Geelong won’t be an easy nut to crack.
The Supercats, one of the most successful clubs in SEABL history, have an explosive offence led by imports Ismail Muhhamad and J’Nathan Bullock and NBL swingman Nathan Herbert.
“We have to limit their opportunities in a similar way to how we played C.J. Massingale last week,’’ Harvey said.
“We need to play with the same attitude and intensity as we did in the second half last week.
“Geelong is a great side, but if we can stick to our strengths I’m confident we can win the game.’’
Braves import Luke Meyer, who shut down Massingale last week, will start on Muhhamad tonight, while Adam Tanner will get the job on Bullock.
The Supercats’ on court leader is the player Braves fans love to hate most – Braith Cox.
The former Ballarat Miners point guard loves playing against the Braves and his match-up with Warren Randall and Kevin Probert will be a highlight.
“Braith knows how to get the job done, but we’ll be in his face niggling him,’’ Harvey said.
“Kevin (Probert) was outstanding for us last Saturday and you can see he has his confidence up.
“The combination Warren and Kevin has is really coming along and it reminds of the combination Sam (Fotu) and I used to have.’’
Braves star Ivan McFarlin could hold the key to the Braves’ fortunes.
His presence in the paint is a match-up problem for the Supercats.
An added incentive for the Braves is tonight will be Ricky Daniels’ final game with the club.
The 39-year-old forward announced his retirement after last Saturday’s east conference grand final win over Knox.
Tonight’s game at MSAC starts at 8pm. The women’s championship game between Dandenong and Launceston starts at 6pm. Former Lady Braves star Andrea Walsh is an assistant coach at Dandenong.
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