Tara Murray
The Whittlesea Pacers will make some small adjustments as it looks to bounce back in the Big V men’s division 2 finals.
The Pacers hosted the Altona Gators on Saturday night with a grand final spot on the line. The Gators came from behind at three quarter time to get the 94-91 win and the opportunity to host the grand final.
The Pacers now face the Wallan Panthers on Saturday for the chance to play the Gators in the decider.
Pacers coach Des Radoslovic said they were disappointed with the result, but knows that they weren’t that far off.
“We controlled the match for a fair part of the game, but when you let them get close, anything can happen,” he said.
“Most of the time we were still generating enough good shots, We missed some shots at key times and Altona made some plays late in the game and we didn’t execute when we needed to.
“Altona has been our toughest rival all year and they played really well.”
Radoslovic said they still won a lot of areas in the game and were confident that with a couple of tweaks they would get two more wins and the championship.
“We still think our best basketball beats anyone,” he said.
Four of the five starters scored double figures for the Pacers, led by Gabe Evans and Angus Fischer with 18 points each.
The loss means the Pacers now have to play Wallan in the preliminary final. The Panthers beat the Mildura Heat, 70-66 in the other semi final.
Radoslovic said they deserved the second chance after all the hard work they put in during the regular season.
He said they remained confident heading into the match.
“We played Wallan a few weeks ago and beat them at Wallan,” he said. “They look like they are hitting form at the right time of the season
“If we just continue to play the way we play and back ourselves in to get another win. We’ve beaten them twice during the season, we are confident we can do it again.”
While the senior men Pacers will have to make the grand final the hard way, the Pacers youth league division 2 women’s and men’s sides are both through to grand finals.
The youth league girls will play the Bellarine Storm in the grand final. The Storm beat the Pacers by two points in the second week of finals.
The youth league men’s side will host the grand final, after beating Melbourne University, 73-68.
They will face the Sunbury Jets.
Radoslovic said no matter what happens the next few weeks, it has been a successful season for the club.
“It’s been a successful championship season,” he said. “There’s been murmurings about the club behind the scenes, but Shannon Bodley has done a sterling job with the VJBL [Victorian Junior Basketball League] program which has gone from strength to strength the last 12 months.
“Putting final results aside, it’s been a successful season but we want to take away three championships.”
