Hume City Broncos dream of three Big V women’s state championship titles in a row remains alive.
But to get there, the Broncos will have to beat a familiar foe in the form of Ringwood.
The two sides have faced off in the past two grand finals series – and the Broncos’ win over Bulleen in the preliminary final on Saturday night means that for a third straight year they will play for the title.
The Broncos came out firing against Bulleen and maintained the pressure all game to win 66-55.
Broncos assistant coach Warren Taylor said the players locked into the desired intensity early.
That intensity, and the Broncos starting line-up, surprised many.
Taylor said Mua Laloifi was brilliant from start to finish.
“It was a pretty calculated decision to start her to counteract Bulleen’s starts,” he said.
“They play three bigs as they are worried about Colleen’s [Planeta] size. Mua has a bigger body and was able to match up on their third big.”
He said starting Nicole McMahon was a big surprise to everyone, while he couldn’t recall Viv Saad coming off the bench all year.
“Having Nicole on the court freed up Colleen and changed the way Bulleen went to the basket,” he said. “It was a gamble and it worked.”
Taylor said that, as expected, Planeta bounced back from a disappointing performance the week before.
“She could have had 40 points,” he said. “In the second half we found other avenues to goal and used them. In the second quarter, she hit three three-pointers in three minutes.
“She can come out and breath fire after a poor game but this time she was quiet and focused.”
Taylor said Nicole Zammit was another standout.
Now attention turns to the grand final series match-up, with the Broncos to host the first game on Saturday night.
“I think having the first of the games at home it a huge advantage,” Taylor said. “If we can win the first game, they have to win two games in two days against us the week after.”
He said the entire Ringwood line-up watched the Broncos beat Bulleen on Saturday.
“It will keep them on their toes after seeing that performance,” he said.
The most excited of the Broncos is Samara Gallaher, who will return for the grand final series.
Gallaher has missed the finals so far while on national duty with the New Zealand basketball team – just as she missed out on last year’s grand final series.
“She is pumped and excited,” Taylor said.
