Melbourne Boomers will see a relatively new line-up take to the court for Saturday night’s preseason hit-out against Bendigo Bank Spirit at the Ballarat Minerdome.
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The Boomers will run out for another Women’s National Basketball League preseason game as it looks to work towards its best form ahead of their season opener against Adelaide Lightning on October nine. Boomers’ Elyse Penaluna said the focus for the match would be to continue to improve its cohesion as a group and build on its new systems – but she was confident the side had already made strong steps in that area throughout the preseason.
“We’re feeling fantastic, we’ve only been together a short time but we’ve piled a lot of training together and we’re excited to get out there against Bendigo,” Penaluna said.
“It’s just (about) getting the right offense, we haven’t been together a long time so working through that and making sure we run everything to the way Guy (Molloy) wants it – that’s our biggest focus for the weekend.
Fellow Boomers’ star Kasey Burton echoed Penaluna’s thoughts and added the importance of coming to community clinics in order to grow the game.
“I love kids and to coach them is even better,” Burton said.
“We’ve got three or four weeks to go before the start of the season so (it’s about) getting out there and making sure that we’re on point and we’re able to fix the mistakes on the run instead of taking them back to training.”
Bendigo Spirit will be looking to gain similar valuable match experience Saturday night. It will look to tighten up its defensive structures according to coach Simon Pritchard. Pritchard said the group had endured a heavy workload leading into the game but nonetheless expected a good showing on the weekend. While the scoreboard was irrelevant in his eyes, the more important factor was the side’s ability to hold up under the match-day pressure – something that cannot be replicated on the practice court.
“For us it’s about our defensive process. The players are going to be learning that on the run so it’ll be interesting how they respond,” Pritchard said.
“That pressure that comes with the game you don’t have at training – that’s what we’re seeking.”
Spirit will be without three of its best starting players, as Heather Oliver and Gab Richards fulfill netball commitments while import Blake Dietrick will fly-in on Sunday morning.
Tip-off is at 7pm, Saturday.
