After only just making it into the finals in eighth position on the ladder, the Braves made it all the way to the grand final against the Nunawading Spectres, but fell short by nine points, final scores 99-90.

"It's a tough pill to swallow as we were up by 14 points in the first quarter and then made a good run in the last," Hogan said.

"But at the same time, I'm proud of our efforts to make it that far, but in the end we fell just short."

Hogan said the Spectres were hungry to win the game, especially after they were runners-up to the Hobart Huskies in the 2018 SEABL Championship match.

"On their behalf, they had experience on the end of a loss last year, they were a team of veterans ready for it," Hogan said.

"For a lot of our guys it was their first time (grand final), but we held our heads high and we fought it to the end."

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The strength of the team in the second half of the season was more than evident, following a slow start to the year which didn't see the full squad together until round six.

"I don't think anyone really rated us except for ourselves and people that knew us well," Hogan said.

"We were the only ones who thought we had a chance, we proved a lot of doubters wrong."

The 2018 NBL1 season was Hogan's first year as coach and proved that he was capable of leading teams to grand finals.

However, it was not possible without the key support team around him.

"I didn't score any baskets," Hogan laughed.

"It was the guys themselves, so full credit to them and the coaching staff that helped me.

"Michael Gibbons, Taylor Bell and Justin Cass were amazing and without them we wouldn't have gotten as far as we did."

The Braves' ranks included several younger players in Dyson Daniels, Jake Lloyd and Tanner Rayner.

"The development of the younger guys is something we were most happy about, with eight other players averaging career high minutes, points and assists," Hogan said.

"It's a massive tick and holds us in good stead going forward."

Looking to the 2020 season, Hogan is more than confident he can lead the Braves to championship glory next season.

"I talked to most of the guys on Sunday and Monday after the game and they're all keen to come back and go one better next year," Hogan said.

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