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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“It’s not just great for us as a club, it’s great for Geelong and it’s great for the region,” Beauglehall said.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“The biggest changes we expect to see next season will be the pace of the game and the skill level,” Beauglehall added.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Bellarine enters the Big V Championship next season alongside fellow newcomers Melbourne University and Keysborough. The season is scheduled to begin March 18-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n