Having completed the regular Big V basketball season undefeated, Sunbury Jets are quickly turning their attention to finals and their championship ambitions.
With top spot secured several weeks ago, the Jets continued on their merry way in the final rounds of the season to have an average winning margin of more than 30 points for the year.
In the final weekend of the season, the Jets had big wins against Craigieburn Eagles and Keilor Thunder.
The Eagles were no match for the Jets on Saturday night, but the Thunder made more of a game of it on Sunday.
Jets coach Kennedy Kereama was pleased to have had a hard hit out against the Thunder in the 90-56 win.
“We expected that,” he said after the game. “They had a lot to play for with three players retiring at the end of the game. They are a good side … I think they are a better side than their results show for the season.”
Most pleasing for the Jets was their third quarter, in which they restricted the Thunder to seven points. Four of those came in the last minute and a half of the term.
Defence and offensive rebounds were the highlights for the Jets in that quarter.
“We really focus a lot on our defence – that’s something we want to pride ourselves on,” Kereama said. “We’ve been the best defensive team all season … if we keep doing that, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win the championship.
“We got 20 offensive boards for the game which is pretty damn good … I think what made it better was our ability to score off those boards.”
The big margins at the weekend meant the Jets were able to give every player court time on both Saturday and Sunday.
Kereama said that while it was nice to have gone through the regular season undefeated, it would mean little if that didn’t continue in the finals.
“It’s nice and I think the girls had a 10 second chat about it – that’s it,” he said.
“We want to continue doing that … we go back to one of our values, be consistent.”
The Jets have the week off in the first round of the finals before facing the lowest-placed winner from the semi-finals.
“We get a week off, but we’re going to train and go through the processes,” Kereama said.
“We’re going to play a game against Hume City state championship women’s team, who are also on top of their ladder.”
