Ready for the business end of the season

The Castec Rural Supplies Mount Gambier Pioneers men are back at Wulanda this Saturday night to take on the Sandringham Sabres – a match up that has not been seen since the opening round of the season.

In that April 6 contest the Pioneers took the win 97-79 with a dominant second quarter, where the Pioneers took control of the match with a 27-11 effort.

The two sides have not faced off since so analysis of this play off match proves problematic.

Aside from the hiccup against the Melbourne Tigers, the Pioneers enter the clash off a more consistent run into the play offs with strong wins both at home and on the road, while Sandringham has struggled to establish momentum leading into the business end of the season.

In the April 6 contest, Akech Aliir top scored with 22 points, adding nine rebounds to the stat sheet as well, while Nick Marshall scored 20 to go with his 10 rebounds and Christian Peevy put up 19 points and pulled in four rebounds.

Those names would be expected to be key on Saturday night as well – Aliir entering the clash off a quality month of basketball, while Marshall’s return in the final minor round reminded the home crowd of the reigning club MVP’s value to the line-up, while Peevy has been a model of consistency in the seconds half of the season.

Add to that, the contributions from Titus Robinson and Austin Shelley will be key, while the experience for former skipper Tom Daly, who knows all too well what it takes to be a championship winning line-up will play a role, as much in the preparation for the match as any on court contribution.

And, of course, head coach Richard Hill knows a thing or two about securing titles.

The OneFortyOne Mount Gambier Pioneers women are headed to Melbourne to take on top ranked Knox on the Raiders home court.

The two sides met twice in the regular season – the Pioneers taking care of business in their first encounter on May 18, with a dour, low scoring clash going the way of the Raiders on July 5.

It might be a little simplistic but one key difference in the two minor round games was the absence of Zitina Aokuso in the loss earlier this month.

In the May 18 victory, Aokuso put up 11 points, pulled in 14 rebounds and blocked five shots, and it could be argued that is before the 25 year old really hit her straps, so no doubt her influence will be pivotal in the final wash up.

Sherri Calleia was important in both the Raiders matches, with 26 points and six rebounds in the win and 17 and eight in the recent loss, while Haliegh Reinoehl racked up 22 and seven in the May 18 win and 19 and eight in the loss.

The influence of Isa Brancatisano will also be key and she put up 14 points and secured six boards and her on court leadership and ability to create will go a long way to deciding the final scoreline, while the ability to Samantha Fatkin to hit the scoreboard and the boards will also play a role.

In the July 5 loss, the match was an arm wrestle for three quarters with the Pioneers fading in the last, losing it by 13 points to suffer the three point loss.

Adding Aokuso back into the mix has to already close that narrow gap, while head coach Matt Sutton is no stranger to the pressure of play offs, not just as a coach but as a championship winning skipper, and he will no doubt have contingency plans in place to overcome the Raiders.