Tara Murray
The Hume City Broncos are hoping to bounce back from a less than ideal start to the Big V men’s state championship season.
The Broncos lost their opening two matches of the season, including a big loss to Wyndham in round one.
Broncos coach Matt Foster said it wasn’t the start they were after, but knew that it was always going to take some time.
“Ideally we wouldn’t be 0-2,” he said. “Playing Wyndham was a bit of an eye-opener.
“It will take some time. We lost six or seven players, so it’s always going to take a while with new additions.
“We had only two practice games with guys coming in late. We will be better in a couple of weeks, but you never want to be 0-2.”
Foster said the changes to the squad weren’t necessarily planned, it was just the way it played out.
He said missing out on moving to the National Basketball League 1 South competition had hurt them.
“It was disappointing not to make the NBL1 competition,” he said. “We had two or three guys take the opportunity to go and play in NBL1.
“A couple of other players have work commitments so it makes it hard to drive out to Hume.”
To fill those voids the Broncos have brought in a number of new players.
Import Chris Elder has made an instant impact, scoring 37 points in the side’s loss in round two.
Jah Soloai has returned to the club, Corey Bellman has come across from the Sunbury Jets, while Solomon Deer, Bul Niop and Max Viitala have all joined the club.
Foster said they would also see a few players from the youth league team get some court time.
“We’ve had a couple come up from the youth league,” he said.
“It’s always good to promote young players. Three younger guys have played decent minutes in the first few rounds.
“There will be a few more play minutes throughout the season.”
With the club still keen to eventually get into the NBL1 South competition, Foster said it was important to continue to have good results on and off the court.
“We would like to be a finals team and we’re aiming for the top four this season.”
The Broncos are due to play Western Port and Blackburn Raiders on the weekend.
The women’s side, which is sitting 0-2, is due to face Wyndham on Saturday night.
