By Trevor Jackson
THE Mount Gambier Pioneers will look for more success to start the NBL1 South basketball season, after claiming the oping two games of the competition.
The Pioneers were victorious in Round 1 over Sandringham Sabres and Waverley Falcons on a double-header road trip, with another two games this weekend, but both at home at Wulanda.
The Pioneers host the Frankston Blues on Saturday night, in what coach Richard Hill said would be a tough encounter.
“Frankston is an outstanding team,” he said.
“They were one of the best teams last year.
“They have recruited massively and recruited well, we will be up against it.
“They are serious contenders this year.”
From there the Pioneers host Ballarat Miners on Sunday and again will not have an easy game.
“On current level, Ballarat will be a good team,” Hill said.
“They are one and one at the moment.
“That is a game we must win at home.”
The importance of the early victories can not be understated, as was shown last season.
The Pioneers won their first six games, but then faced injuries and lost five in a row.
For example, if a player misses two weeks, they could miss four games, which is a big patch of the season.
For that reason, Hill said a solid start was extremely important, as was further improvement offensively.
“Two of the starters are brand new for us – Akech (Aliir) and Christian (peevy) – who trying to find a rhythm with their team mates,” Hill said.
“It takes a bit of getting used to, but every team is doing the same thing.
“Our improvement will come in terms of playing together – we can’t rely on Nick Marshall to play like he did last weekend every game.
“We only put 67 points on the board Sunday and we need to be better than that.
“You are not going to win too many games with 67 points.
“Over the years we have averaged 100 points a game, so we need to be better on offence.”
