Tara Murray
Melton Thoroughbreds dream run has continued with the side through to the Basketball Victoria Country Basketball League north-west grand final.
Having sides take to the court for the first time in the CBL competition, the Thoroughbreds men have been the standout side so far in their division.
They are now one game from the perfect season, with only the Mildura Heat standing in their way in the grand final this weekend.
Coach Mick McCallum said it was amazing just thinking about the season they’ve had.
“It still hasn’t sunk in at the moment,” he said. “We’re just over the moon.
“It was definitely the end goal to get to the grand final and we thought we could do it. We’re a team that could do it and we’ve shown that.”
The Thoroughbreds won through to the grand final with a semi final win against the Bendigo Braves, winning 95-68.
The game was all but over at quarter time, with the Thoroughbreds leading 30-8.
McCallum said the start was something they had been working towards.
“It was our best quarter of the season,” he said. “And I think we still have more in them.
“The last few weeks, the first five to 10 minutes have been average. To put one together from the start was really good and not having to play catch up.”
McCallum said the guys’ defence was the key to the good start as they shut down the Braves with the offensive flowing from that.
The momentum continued into the middle quarters, with the Thoroughbreds leading by 40 points at the last break.
The Braves won the final quarter 27-14, but McCallum and the Thoroughbreds had already put the cue in the rake.
“At the seven minute mark the whole starting five were on the bench,” he said. “Our bench guys got a good run in front of the home crowd.”
Blake Allison top scored with 30 points, his second 30 point game in three matches.
Allison along with Bok Bak have been nominated among the 10 finalists for the division’s all-star five team. The most valuable player normally comes from the finalists.
McCallum said Allison had really stepped up his game in the back half of the season. He said he could easily claim the MVP award.
“He has been unbelievable,” he said. “We go very deep and it takes the focus away from him at times.
“We just want to win next week, personal achievements don’t matter compared to that.”
The Thoroughbreds face Mildura Heat in the grand final in Bendigo. The two teams played each other in the final round of the regular season with the Thoroughbreds winning by two points.
McCallum said they would review footage of the Heat’s semi final and then hit the training and work on what they need to work on.”
After a few tough years on court for the Thoroughbreds men’s senior program in the Big V competition, McCallum said it was exciting for the whole club the success they’ve had.
“Having that feeling at the stadium of having the kids back on court, everyone was up and about,” he said.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had that big a crowd at the stadium. It’s credit to the boys and all the hard work they’ve put in.”
