By Trevor Jackson
NEWS from the Mount Gambier Pioneers head coach Richard Hill throws some positives on the remainder of the NBL1 South basketball season.
The coronavirus pandemic and the latest restrictions as a result have thrown the season into chaos, like so many other sports in the country.
However, Hill said a plan is in place to play out as much of the season as possible, with the Pioneers gaining two double-header weekends in a row at home.
That will be a huge boost for the club as the men are embroiled in a fight for a playoff position.
There will be no games this weekend for the Pioneers, but the Melbourne teams will go ahead with some restrictions still in place.
However, from there the season ramps up for the Mount Gambier side, with a rush towards the playoffs.
“They are having a full round in Melbourne with no spectators this weekend,” Hill said.
“We have a home game next week, then two home doubles, Friday and Saturday night in a row, then a road double to finish, so we have seven games in a short period of time to clean up the season.”
Hill said it was a real positive for the club, which looked like losing its home games as the COVID-19 pandemic played out across Victoria.
“Now we will end up with all of our home games which is good for the guys and the girls,” he said.
“It gives us a fair shot at it if we are good enough.”
Hill accepted the way the season panned out was a bit of a shame, but noted two players in particular were affected significantly.
He said Tom Daly and Erik Burdon, who were both late in their careers, had probably suffered a bit more.
“I feel for our guys, Tom and Erik in particular,” he said.
“We have played 13 games of basketball in two-and-a-half years and that is across seven weekends.
“That is a massive hit for them in terms of their career.
“It is not a big deal for me, I have been coaching all my life, but I think those two have been affected significantly.”
Despite that Hill said you have to put the situation in context.
“Really when you look at the overall scheme it is only basketball,” he said.
“We have been lucky in Australia and South Australia with the pandemic … we can’t really complain.
“But I am really excited for the next four weeks.
“We are going to play three double headers in a row and we will have five games in Mount Gambier in what will amount to 20 days.”
While the Pioneers do miss out on games this weekend, they have ample time to prepare, with training kicking off again this week and a full week to prepare for the next outing.
“We will be able to get some decent training in, so we should be in good shape,” Hill said.
“We have been playing well, even on the back of no playing.
“The team has been pretty good, very resilient.”
Likewise Hill said he was impressed by the women’s team.
“The girls are doing really well,” he said.
“I think they have done a great job, they are a tough group and there are two or three games in there they could envisage winning, which would be a good result for them.”
As for the men, there is still no guarantee of a playoff spot, with the competition tight at the top of the table.
“We are in a dogfight for a top-four spot which gives us a home final,” Hill said.
“It is so close in the men’s competition – the difference between fourth and ninth I don’t think will be much more than a game.
“We could be in a battle for fourth and at the same time in a battle to make the playoffs.
“At the moment there are six teams with four losses after the top two.
“There are a couple of teams outside of that group who would think they could still make the playoffs.
“It could be either exciting playoffs coming up or all over very quickly.”
