Tara Murray
Keilor Thunder is hoping to use the midseason break to kick start its season in the National Basketball League 1 South competition.
The Thunder has shown some good signs in recent weeks as they find their spot in the competition, getting a few more wins on the board.
But the side was 13th as they had a week off due to the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.
Coach Tom Bandilovski said they were slowly getting to where they needed to be.
“We are improving as a team and I think we are getting better,” he said.
“We’re playing better but the results aren’t going our way, which is fine. We need this break, We will hopefully make a few other adjustments so we are even more competitive.”
The Thunder entered the break on the back of a loss, having lost to the Melbourne Tigers, 78-72.
The result came with star Maddie Garrick not taking to the court. Garrick averages more than 21 points a game, the eighth most in the competition.
While Bandilovski knows Garrick would have made a difference, he said they should have been able to win without her.
“I still think we should have beaten the Melbourne Tigers,” he said. “We didn’t execute well and we will only learn from that for the next game.”
As well as resting their bodies after a tough start to the season at the break, the Thunder were going to use it as a chance to get some more practice in with their imports.
Christa Reed and Selena Philoxy both joined the team after the season started.
“Christa is coming along nicely,” he said. “Selena has been here just two weeks and is getting better and better.
“With every import the first one, two or even three matches, there’s an adjustment period.
“Selena will get better and better and more training sessions with us will help.”
Bandilovski said in the second half of the season, the aim is to continue to build and show that they belong in this competition.
He knows there’s still plenty of improvement to come.
“We want to be competitive against every team,” he said. “If we can achieve that, the results will come along the way.
“It’s our first year in the competition. While we would like to win every game, it’s hard to do that at this level.
The Thunder face the Ringwood Hawks on Saturday night in Ringwood.
Bandilovski said it would be nice to have a single header, after a number of back-to-backs in the first part of the season.
The men’s side sits 18th at the break.
In their most recent match, the Thunder got their second win of the season, beating the Melbourne Tigers, 66-22.
Tara Murray
