Keilor Thunder’s slight finals hopes remain alive but it needs everything to go right in the run home in the National Basketball League South 1 men’s competition.
The new look Thunder line up is starting to put all the pieces together and getting a few more wins on the board.
Coach Ash Arnott said anything can happen in the back part of the season.
“We need everything to go our way,” he said. “We’ve had some little changes to the roster, some players in and out.
“We need some luck going into the end of the season.
“It has been such a tough league this year and that is the talk around town about how tough the men’s side has been.
“Anything can happen, we do need it all to go our way to finish off with a run to end the season.”
Arnott said the focus for the group in the run home was to continue to build on the strong foundation for the future.
He said while they want to get the wins on the board, it’s about building a senior program that can have sustained success.
“I think we’ve come a long way from the start of the season,” he said.
“Spectators coming to games are starting to see a style of play we know it can hold up with the top teams in the league.
“We have been in some really tight contests against top four teams in the south and now trying to build that consistency.
“The three things we talk about is pride in the jersey, pride in our team… and being relentless for the whole game.
“We’re building it day by day and we understand that it is a process. We are continuing to build in the right way and that it can turn at any given moment in a positive space.”
The Thunder made it two wins in a row on Saturday night with a good performance against the Eltham Wildcats, another side aiming for a finals spot.
Keilor led at each break on the way to a 96-78 win.
The Thunder had five players score double figures, led by Daniel Foster and Daniel Poelsma with 22 points each.
Newest Thunder member Patrick Ryan scored nine points off the bench.
Speaking before the game against the Wildcats, Arnott said Ryan, who was playing his second game, added something different to the team.
“Patty he was a great intro into our team in terms of the toughness and grittiness that he brought,” he said.
“We were really happy with how he has fit into our group and how we are going to build with him especially in his position, great size got some really good length, allows us to continue to be disruptive defensively and offensively and being able to put that pressure on the basket aggressive drives.
“Definitely someone to invest into the future.”
Arnott, will miss the next couple of games as he is away with the Australian under-17 team.
He said he’s lucky to have some good staff around him who are focused on getting a couple of wins in his absence.
