Gators eye semi-final sweep as series moves to Keysborough

Shepparton has put itself in a position to complete a semi-final series sweep on the back a scintillating past fortnight of basketball.

Beginning with a do-or-die elimination final with RMIT, the Gators dominated the Redbacks with a 70-49 triumph, before carrying that form into game one against Keysborough where they won 91-65.

But this weekend will be the first time Shepparton travels away from the comforts of its ‘’Swamp’’ in the finals series, with the final two games (if required) of the series taking place at Keysborough’s Rowville Secondary College home court.

Gators coach Josh Waight said he expected to see a fired up Cougars side take the court on Saturday night.

“We feel like we’ve played eight quarters of basketball so far this finals series, but we know that doesn’t cut it, we’ll have to put another four-quarter performance in on Saturday night to avoid going to a game three,” Waight said.

“But we know we are going to get their best shot, they will be disappointed with how game one went and will definitely bring the physicality to us early.

“They do a great job of scoring in transition, so once again we will have to really focus on shutting that down and come ready to play from the outset.”

The Gators’ defence has been the trademark of their finals campaign to date, keeping the Redbacks to a field goal percentage of 24.6 per cent and Cougars to 27.7 in the past fortnight.

This has largely been on the back of young guard Jordan Michel and athletic utility Tom Frame, who have been instrumental in setting the tone for Shepparton on the defensive end.

Offensively, star US import Garrett Jefferson still holds the key to success, but a more rounded performance against the Cougars last week (when 10 Gators reached double figures) showed they have plenty of avenues to the hoop.

Waight said his team would be desperate to prevent the series going to a third game.

“We really want to avoid getting into a third game,” he said.

“Those deciders are always really tough, the legs are tired and with so much on the line anything can happen.

“So we are really focused on getting the job done on Saturday night and not giving them any momentum to get back in the series — and if we play like we have been over the last two weeks I am confident we can get it done.”

While they won’t be playing in front of a full complement of home fans, the Gators are still expecting a strong band of support to make the trip to Keysborough, with a bus organised for die-hards to get to the game on Saturday.

Waight said the presence of purple in the crowd would without doubt give the team a boost.

“There are a few (fans) that are going to come down which is very exciting,” he said.

“The support we’ve had all year has been wonderful and hopefully they can make some noise down in Keysborough and get us over the line on Saturday night.”

Game two of the Big V Division One semi-final series between Shepparton and Keysborough tips off at 8pm on Saturday at Rowville Secondary College.

And if required, the deciding game three will begin at 3pm on Sunday at the same venue.