Hume City Broncos haven’t given up hope of playing finals, despite sitting behind the eight ball in Big V men’s state championship division.
The Broncos sat eighth heading into the Queen’s Birthday weekend bye, two games behind sixth placed Casey Cavaliers.
Making the Broncos challenge even harder is they’ve played more games than the other teams around them.
Broncos’ coach Kelvin Bowers said finals was still a clear aim for the side.
“I will never quit and we still have a shot of making the top six and it’s still our aim,” he said.
“Life is full of challenges … I have no doubt in my mind if we play well we can still make the top six.
“We need to make a few adjustments.”
Bowers said the side – which in recent weeks has been involved in some very one-sided scorelines – hadn’t gelled how he would have liked.
He said it had been a rollercoaster few weeks.
“I’m a person who is accountable and takes responsibility,” he said.
“The inability to get the team to gel and understand their strengths is put on my shoulders.
“Something that is our strength has also been our weakness as well – the three ball.
“Our best shooters are sometimes shooting 0-6 and 0-7. Penetration to the basket has been more effective, so we have to get that balance right.”
Injuries haven’t helped the Broncos cause, not that Bowers is using it as an excuse. The Broncos starters have all played big minutes with several of the back-ups struggling with injuries.
Patrick Forbes, who played just three matches, has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury, while Bastian Allen has only played four matches.
Adding to the side’s woes, star centre Trevor Clayton has missed the last four games.
“Trevor was just starting to get his flow and averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds per game. He’s still out for another two weeks so the bye has come at a fantastic time.
“Shaun Prasad started to play better and Phill Renteria is standing up. They both need to get better though as does the rest of the team.”
The side’s next match is against Knox Raiders on Saturday.
