BENDIGO Braves' ascension to NBL1 men's preliminary finalists may have raised some eyebrows across the league, but it's come as no shock to the playing group - least of all star import Ray Turner.
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The league MVP candidate admits to have become increasingly confident of the Braves' fortunes with each passing week, as they continued to defy their eighth-place regular season finish with a second-straight finals win against Kilsyth Cobras last Sunday.
Turner, the undoubted star of the Braves' 115-104 semi-final win with 37 points, 12 rebounds and two steals, pointed to a playing group that had increasingly grown comfortable with each other, after some early season teething problems.
"Obviously we had our fair share of ups and downs throughout the season, but your grow and learn from those," he said.
"Going into the playoffs everybody has a better idea of what needs to be done to get the wins. I think we are playing at our best at the moment.
"(All) our guys are doing exactly what they need to do - get open shots, shoot the ball and don't think about.
"We shoot the ball for a reason, especially from the three-point line. If guys are open, I tell them all the time, if you are open shoot the ball - there's no need to think about it and hesitate, unless we absolutely have to settle down and execute.
"Other than that it's just play ball, play ball the way you know."
Obviously we had our fair share of ups and downs throughout the season, but your grow and learn from those.
- Ray Turner
The Braves were again well served against the Cobras by import Deonte Burton (24 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals) and Mathiang Muo (24 points, five rebounds, five assists).
But Turner was quick to assign praise to each individual Brave for executing their role.
He reserved special acclaim for coach David Hogan, a rookie, who weathered a mixed early win-loss record, to have his side on the cusp of a grand final berth in his first season as a senior mentor.
"He's still learning, but he's definitely pushing us at training and figuring things out along the way - that's what you expect from a young coach," Turner said.
"But he's definitely motivated, definitely excited. Getting a championship in his first year would be excellent."
The Braves meet Frankston Blues at 7.30pm on Saturday night, with the game at Frankston Basketball Stadium believed to have sold out in an under an hour.
Led by Matt Andronicos (16 points, 10 rebounds), Jake Cowling (19 points, five rebounds) and Turner (16 points, five rebounds and two blocks), the Braves defeated the Blues earlier in the season 88-73 at Bendigo Stadium.
Top-ranked Ballarat Miners play Nunawading Spectres (third) in the other semi-final, also on Saturday night.
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