By Russell Bennett
The hoop dreams of the Pakenham Warriors’ Big V youth men’s and senior men’s basketball teams revolve around one recurring theme – championship glory.
The new season has quickly arrived, and Pakenham’s Youth League Division 2 men are off to a flying start – destroying Keysborough 83-62 in their opening clash at Cardinia Life on Sunday afternoon.
Now they want to carry on that momentum and see how far it takes them.
“With how we went last year, our goal now has to change a little bit,” said coach Simo Pajdic, who was pleasantly surprised by his side’s performance in 2016.
“Our goal wasn’t to win it last year because, to be frank, we didn’t think we were capable of it.
“Our goal now is to win it all.
“We read something on the Big V website and they’ve tipped us to be the team to beat and all that kind of stuff, but I think the team that’s far ahead of everyone in this division – including us – is probably Casey. They’re just so consistent, and that’s the team we’re hunting.”
Though the young Warriors are hell-bent on improving across the board, their non-negotiables will always be things like talking, rebounding, taking charges, and maintaining a high level of concentration.
“Our good will see us match it with State Championship teams, but our bad is losing to a side like Maccabi at the (pre-season) tournament,” Pajdic said.
“If we could find a middle-ground that’s 15 wins for the season and a potential grand final appearance, and that’s what we’re after.”
Pajdic’s assistant Tristan Blacka said the discipline and consistency of Casey is what sets the Cavs apart.
From the senior men’s perspective, the group – coached for the first time this season by Brent Russell – includes a number of new faces. They’re looking to gel as quickly as possible as a unit to get to the stage where they can contend for the Division 2 crown.
“With eight or nine new guys it’ll be tough at first as everyone gets used to playing with each other,” said captain Ben Gaze.
“But that’s where the pre-season games have been vital in getting everyone switched on.
“In the games we’ve played and we’ve won, people have been giving up their good shot for someone else’s better shot.”
Star forward James Topp has returned to the Warriors this season after some time away, and he’s quickly realised just how talented this season’s roster is.
“It’s a good thing from the perspective of lots of different guys being able to score – rather than just relying on one person,” he said.
“I think it’s probably going to be a lot more of an even spread this season, which has already helped with our offense so far.”
Gaze praised the depth of the roster, which will be relied upon from top to bottom throughout the season in an incredibly competitive Division 2.
“With our young guys coming in, they know the role they have to play and what they need to do to get the job done.
“It’s going to be tough for teams to match up on if everyone is scoring 10 points rather than one person scoring 30.”
Topp said the roster was particularly well rounded, with a combination of post, mid-range and outside threats.
“It really gives us the ability to adapt to what the other teams do defensively,” he said.
The key for Russell’s side is getting to the point where they’re playing their best basketball at the business end of the season.
They’re off to a flying start – destroying the North East Bushrangers 82-59 in Wodonga on Saturday night. With Topp [knee] out, Gaze (22 points on 8-15 shooting and 9 boards) and lights-out shooter Rob Maartens (25 points including 4-8 from three) were instrumental.
They continue their season this Saturday from 5pm at Cardinia Life against the Southern Peninsula Sharks, while Pajdic’s Youth Men’s side will take on Collingwood straight after on the same floor at 7pm.
The Division 2 Youth League Women’s side will head to Dromana Secondary College to take on the Western Port Steelers on Sunday from noon.
