Fate pits Forestville’s Kane De Wit against beloved former side Mount Gambier Pioneers in grand final
Forestville point guard Kane De Wit is getting ready to battle his former club in the men’s Premier League basketball grand final, with the Eagles’ women hoping to make it a double against Sturt.
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Kane De Wit’s heart was tied to Mount Gambier.
Not just because the South-East town was where he lived but because it was home to the basketball club he had lined up with for his entire senior career.
De Wit helped the Pioneers win three South East Australian Basketball titles – in 2014, 2015 and 2017 – and shared many special memories with the players.
But when the SEABL was disbanded at the end of last season and amid all the uncertainty about where the team would play in 2020, the 22-year-old point guard quit the Pioneers.
He joined SA Premier League side Forestville – the club where he had played juniors – not knowing Mount Gambier would later be granted entry into the same competition.
Now De Wit is now preparing to line up with Forestville in a grand final against Mount Gambier at Basketball SA Stadium this Saturday night.
The Eagles made last year’s title decider only to go down to Southern Tigers and were aiming for redemption.
“I am born and raised in Mount Gambier so playing with them when I first started (seniors) at 16 was a no-brainer,” De Wit says.
“But I also played for Forestville in juniors – I travelled up (to Adelaide) every Friday.
“With the uncertainty it made the decision (to leave) tough but what club to go to was an easy decision.
“It’s obviously a weird situation as I had been through a lot with those guys (at Mount Gambier) but I wouldn’t want to be playing against any other team.”
The Eagles lost to the Pioneers twice during the minor round and in the semi-final earlier this month.
De Wit, of Brompton, is expecting to cop a bit of banter from his former teammates but reckons the Eagles have what it takes to have the last laugh.
“I don’t really talk too much when I’m on the court, I prefer to just play,” he says.
“But I know that a lot our guys like to talk and a lot of their guys like to talk a bit of smack as well.
“Stringing four, really good quarters of basketball together is what it’s going to take to beat them.”
Forestville’s women will also feature in their grand final for a second consecutive year – this time against Sturt.
The Eagles lost to North Adelaide in last season’s decider.
Chelsea Roberts switched from Norwood to Forestville ahead of this season and hopes to help the Eagles to glory.
“We don’t want to go back-to-back of a double-header with losses so we definitely want that win,” Roberts says.
Sturt captain Kayla Matthews has risen through the club’s ranks from juniors and says winning the title will mean the world to her.
“We are feeling pretty confident but not too confident,” Matthews says.
“Going through juniors you watch all the Premier League players and that’s what you aspire to do and now coming into a grand final, it would just be amazing to win.”
The women’s grand final tips off at Basketball SA Stadium at 6.15pm, while the men’s starts at 8.15pm.