Keilor Thunder is seeking to build more consistency in the National Basketball League 1 South men’s season.
The Thunder has a 2-3 record at the Easter break, having won a thriller against the Frankston Blues in its most recent match.
Coach Ash Arnott said it had been a solid start to the season for the new-look group.
“We are content with how we are building so far, the style of play that we have been playing,” he said.
“Right now it’s about how we find that style for 40 minutes and build that consistency is really important for us.
“We are a new team, have a new style and it’s been challenging at times how we work.”
Arnott said there had been some really good patches in the first five matches, while they had also found some areas that they would be able to build on.
He said their best basketball was really good, it was just doing it for longer.
The Thunder’s start to the season hasn’t been helped with a season injury import to Magnus Richards. Richards arrived in the country just weeks before the season having played in South Australia last year.
Arnott said they were looking to bring in another player to replace him but were still doing their homework on who that would be.
“We’ve had some challenges put to us,” he said. “Different challenges and we’ll have some players missing games coming up for a variety of reasons.
“It’s next man up and they will take it on. Nothing changes from what we have been working on at practice.
“It’s a long season and we’re building the foundations which we’ll hopefully start to see have an impact later in the year.”
Arnott said one of the most impressive things early in the season had been how some of their younger players had stepped up.
He said they had one of the youngest sides in the competition with some young leaders among the group.
“Some young guys are taking on larger roles and it is exciting to see how they are getting that experience,” he said.
“Daniel Poelsma, Jayce Beasley and Ryan Philippe took on roles on the weekend in an important win. There’s others off the bench and will take it on and I’m excited to see how they go.”
The Thunder entered athe break on the back of a win against the Blues by three points.
Arnott said it was nice for the group to see that they were building the right way and see the hard work they were putting in at training paying off.
“The guys never quit.” he said. “They’ve been great and will fight it out for 40 minutes.
“If we can stick to the game plan for 40 minutes we’ll get some more wins on the board.”
The Thunder head to Tasmania for a double header with Hobart and Launceston this weekend.
