When Ballarat Miners previously met Sandringham in round six of the South East Australian Basketball League season, a huge first term was a key part of their success.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But, despite getting the job done, the players could not keep up their intensity for the full four quarters.
Now the teams meet again in a round 10 clash at Sandringham Basketball Stadium on Saturday night, and Ballarat GMHBA Miners coach Nathan Cooper-Brown said consistency still remained a big concern.
“We need to start to push out some leads and build on them and get some bigger wins, rather than fighting for the full 40 minutes,” he said.
“We need to make sure we play really solid half court defence, that really helped us last time, and we need to keep them off the offensive rebounds.”
Cooper-Brown said the team gave up too many second chance points and taking care of this on Saturday could help produce a bigger margin of victory.
The Miners coach does not believe the Sabres have changed much since the May outing, meaning that clash could still act as a guide.
“Sometimes we will play a team and the next time we see them again they could have a bit more momentum – they may have won more games or implemented some new aspects to their offence or defence – but these guys seem to be doing the same thing,” Cooper Brown said.
“Alister Macdonald is shooting really well, he is about second for three-point percentage and their leading scorer, so we need to make sure he doesn’t get going from outside.
“And then they’ve got a really strong front court headed by former Australian Boomer and Melbourne United player David Barlow… so taking care of those guys is priority one.”
Cooper-Brown said generating more stops allowed the Miners to get out into pace, which was crucial to putting into effect their fast, fun and unselfish style of play.
On Sunday, the Miners return to the Minerdome to face Diamond Valley.
“We’ve been away for five games,” Cooper-Brown said. “But it has come at a good time as Diamond Valley plays really hard, they’ve got size, athleticism and they’re well coached, so the benefit of home court advantage on the back end of a double header is invaluable.”
Miner Cam McCallum is dealing with sickness, while Ross Weightman has scoliosis, with both players’ court time to be managed.
Meanwhile, Amos Brooks and Zac Dunmore will not suit up for the Miners in SEABL this weekend due to youth league commitments.
