When newly appointed Sunbury Jets’ women’s coach Kennedy Kereama said he wanted to take the Jets from competition strugglers to championship winners, eyebrows raised.
The Jets had never won a title and their last grand final was in 2009. Only two years ago, they finished bottom of division 1 and were lucky not to be relegated.
Fast-forward 10 months, and Kereama and his side have delivered a first championship.
Not only did the Jets win, they produced one of the most dominant seasons in Big V history.
Eyes quickly opened wide when the Jets defeated last year’s runners-up, Geelong Supercats, by 15 points in round one.
After surviving a scare against Camberwell in round three, which they held by just six points, the wins kept coming for the Jets.
This was despite coach Kereama missing the middle chunk of the season while on national duty with the New Zealand women’s team. Assistant coach Lisa Townsend took over during time and they didn’t miss a beat,
The Jets finished the regular season undefeated, with an average winning margin of 31 points.
They were clearly the best defensive side and held the same title at the offensive end. There was no concerns about not handling the pressure of being finals favourites, as they won their four finals by an average of 22 points.
The Jets are the only state league team from across Australia to go through the season undefeated.
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Kereama said he knew he had made a big statement early on, and is thrilled they’ve achieved their championship goal.
“Probably a few people were a little critical of me coming out and saying that,” he said.
“Thank god the club backed and supported me … we got a great group of girls together, a great blend of experienced players and local talent, and they all brought into what I was about.”
While the championship is the icing on the cake, long-term the club and Kereama are hoping it’s the start of something bigger and will inspire the next generation of basketballers.
“I want to bring everyone back and look at making the move into state championship.”
