Tickets have sold out for Saturday night’s conference final between Ballarat GMHBA Miners and Dandenong Rangers, something that has not happened at the Mars Minerdome since the Opals were in town in 2015.

But the Miners have been pulling huge crowds all season, with those who have missed out able to watch the game streamed live on Basketball Ballarat’s social media pages. 

Miners player Cam McCallum said not even he could buy tickets for his friends due to the sell out. 

“We’ve had the best crowd all year, it’s always a great atmosphere at Ballarat,” McCallum said.  

“When the game gets close towards the end, like last week when we played Hobart, the crowd was amazing and it gives you the extra energy and motivation to get over the line.”

The Miners go into the blockbuster game with a clear home court advantage, which is summed up in a 12 win, one loss record.

McCallum credited the team’s success to the fans.

“We have quite a following this year, people following us both at our home games and in the media, and we’ve had quite a few travel to Tasmania to watch us play,” he said. 

“We want to go out there and win for us, but we feel like we are doing it for them as well.

“And there are people that have been around the club for years and years and haven’t seen success, so to do it for them would be great.”

After rejoining the Miners at the start of the season, McCallum won the club’s coaches award, which, he said, recognised his efforts in bringing the team together both on the practice court and game day. 

McCallum said he had returned to the club with something to prove after being part of the team in 2012.

“When I was playing here last time, we had unfinished business,” McCallum said.

“We just missed out on finals after what was a pretty good season, so (I) just want to finish on a good note.”

He said coach Eric Hayes ignited a “competitive spirit” in the team.

“We’ve picked up on it this year, just going out and having that fight to win,” he said.

“Eric has played in a few conference finals and has never lost one, so hopefully he doesn’t lose one as a coach either.”