Picture: TREVOR JACKSON
MOUNT Gambier Lakers men will close out the minor round of the Country Basketball League tomorrow night when they host Terang Tornadoes at the Icehouse.
On paper the game appears a foregone conclusion.
The Lakers sit in second place on the ladder with just one loss for the season, while the Tornadoes are down in seventh with a 6/8 win/loss ratio.
However, the Tornadoes have shown the ability to score, with 115 points in a high-scoring win over Millicent, 131 in a thrashing of Stawell and 114 in a similar result over Ararat.
Those three teams filled the final positions on the premiership ladder, but it still showed the ability to find the basket.
Whether Terang can keep pace with the Lakers remains to be seen.
The Tornadoes have not faced Mount Gambier this season, but against the top-placed Geelong they struggled both times, while in the only game they faced the third-placed Horsham they were in the game, going down by 16 points.
Mount Gambier’s only blemish this season was probably unexpected – an eight-point loss to Horsham on the road.
That showed the season itself is anything but a foregone conclusion, with the Lakers needing to bring their best each week to ensure they remain in with a chance to defend their 2018-19 championship title.
Interestingly, the Lakers faced Geelong back in round seven and won to the tune of 28 points.
Coach Matt Berkefeld has sat out much of the season due to injury, but has pulled on the guernsey in recent weeks, should his services on court be required.
However, he will be away this weekend and the coaching duties will be taken over by Lachlan Hunter and Sam Stafford.
The roster boasts a mix of youth and experience, led on the scoreboard by Kyle Tipene with and average of 21.58 points per game.
Simon Berkefeld boasts 21, Hunter 15, Stafford 12.18, Jak Ryan 11.4 and Mitchell Hunter 10.08.
The likes of Braiden Ousey, Duncan Reid, Jordan Hollitt, Kurt Rodis and Toby deWit all add to the firepower, which makes for an ominous task for any opponent.
However, Tipene will also be absent tomorrow night, but Matt Berkefeld said he was confident the side would still be near its best.
“We had a lot of players unavailable at the start of the year which made for an interrupted preseason and first couple of weeks,” he said.
“But I think our depth has been our strength this season.
“We have guys coming off the bench who in any other team would start and play big minutes.
“That was proven at the start of the season when players were away and others stepped up.
“A lot of guys put their hands up and this is the last chance to do that coming into the finals.”
Berkefeld said since a finals berth was confirmed the Lakers have been trialling different approaches to both offence and defence to ensure they are prepared for the playoffs.
“We have experimented with defence and a couple of things on offence which we hope to use in the finals,” he said.
“We are just trying to make sure we are as prepared as we can be.”
With the performance of the side this season it is hard to see the Lakers losing this one, with the game set to tip off at the earlier time of 6pm.
