Bellarine ready to cause a storm in Big V Championship

BASKETBALL on the Bellarine will hold itself to a higher standard next season following a promotion of its top men’s team into the Big V Championship, just one level below the nationwide NBL1 competition.

After the Bellarine Storm’s Big V men defeated Shepparton in last season’s Big V Division One, questions of promotion were quickly placed upon head coach Luke Beauglehall and the club, questions that have now been answered.

“It’s not just great for us as a club, it’s great for Geelong and it’s great for the region,” Beauglehall said.

“Going up to state champs we’ll need to re-tool ourselves, but fortunately we have about 90 per cent of our roster staying on.

“As we’ll see next season, the higher the competition, the bigger some of our opponents will be, so we’ll look to recruit a couple other guys that we hope can address some of those areas.”

The Storm head coach said moving into a higher competition was not lost upon his coaching staff and squad but remains headstrong his side is heading into 2023 not as “participants”, instead as contenders.

“The biggest changes we expect to see next season will be the pace of the game and the skill level,” Beauglehall added.

“We’ll soon see some of our guys further down the roster having a better jumpshot, just to keep up with some of the teams we’ll take on next season.

“That was the goal three or four years ago, coming into the Big V at the division level and then ultimately compete at the Championship level. We’re carrying an enormous amount of pride heading into next season, and it’s really exciting for the club.”

Bellarine enters the Big V Championship next season alongside fellow newcomers Melbourne University and Keysborough. The season is scheduled to begin March 18-19.