If you could have dreamed up an opening quarter shooting display, then Craigieburn Eagles first quarter on Saturday night would have been close to it.
After losing in the opening week of Big V men’s division 2 finals, the Eagles wanted to make sure they wouldn’t exit the finals in straight sets.
The Eagles made 12 of their 16 field goal attempts at in the first quarter against Coburg to shoot at a remarkable 75 per cent.
That set the tone for the rest of the game, as the Eagles won 79-67.
Eagles coach Dennis McNamara said the first quarter came as a shock to him.
“It was a very good win,” McNamara said.
“It was a determined effort from the boys to make up for last week.
“You don’t want to be eliminated from the finals after losing two games having spent most of the year on top of the ladder.
“You never expect to shoot like that.”
McNamara said while it was the attack which set it up in the first quarter, the defence proved just as important.
“They [Coburg] cracked under pressure.
“They got frustrated and it was a big advantage for us getting to the foul line where we got 16 points in the final quarter.”
Like last week, the field goal shooting percentage was poor in the final quarter, but McNamara said this wasn’t a concern.
“Because they became aggressive with a lot of holding we weren’t getting the shots we would normally get. We got the points from the foul line instead.”
Eric Miraflores was the standout hitting 34 points.
“His game was huge. He had 25 points in the first half and was going at 75 per cent from the field.
“When he is like that it makes it easier for other players.
“The opposition sends two players to him and gets other players free.”
The injury concerns thought continue for the Eagles with Charles Parker hurting his knee and missing the game. He looks like he won’t play much of a role in the rest of the finals.
The win sets up another match up with Keysborough, with the winner going through to the grand final.
The Eagles lost 88-81 to the Cougars in the first week of the finals.
“We will just chance a few tactics and hopefully we shoot better than them.”
