The transition between coaches for ORENA Hume City Broncos Big V men’s state championship side has been a smooth one.
With head coach Lanard Copeland departing earlier than expected due to his role with National Basketball League side Sydney Kings, Kelvin Bowers has stepped up to coach the Broncos for the final four rounds, and possibly for the finals.
Bowers, who had been an assistant to Copeland, can more than hold his own as a coach, with a career that includes stints at Bulleen, Warrandyte and Sunbury.
Bowers said while he had known there was a possibility he would need to step up into the coach’s shoes, it came a little sooner than anticipated.
“We had talked about it a few weeks in advance,” he said. “Lanard is very dedicated to his work and wanted to give 100 per cent to both roles, but it was a bit more work with the Sydney Kings and he decided to let go of the reins here.
“It has been a very smooth transition. The wonderful thing for me was Lanard would let me have a voice. He was the man, but gave some leeway from me to share my ideas.”
On court, the Broncos remain in the mix for a second straight finals series. With two games remaining, they are seventh after losing to Ringwood at the weekend. The slow start here proved costly, as the Broncos lost 109-95.
In the showdown to finals, three of their starters will be missing from the action.
Gak Laat was injured early in the season, while captain Jermaine Maybank tore his patella tendon and hasn’t played for the past two months.
The final blow came when veteran Jamal Brown tore his Achilles tendon.
“To lose three of our starters to serious injuries is a massive loss for us,” Bowers said.
“We’re not using missing players as an excuse for poor results. We have a powerful squad, and they believe they can be successful.”
Bowers said Nick Jones, Javari Williams and Luke Egan had stepped up in the absence of other key players.
The Broncos’ finals fate may come down to their final match of the year, facing Eltham on Sunday.
Then there’s Diamond Valley to beat on Saturday night.
“We believe that if we can finish sixth, we can win it the way we’ve played the last two weeks.”
Meanwhile the women’s side assured themselves of top spot after defeating Ringwood, 75-59.
