NBL1 North: Khalu previews quarter final, lists what sets Meteors apart

Meteors coach Joel Khalu believes his side has what it takes to win the title in its 10th straight finals campaign. Here’s why.

Meteors star Djery Jean Baptiste could be crucial this finals campaign. Picture: Mitchell Dyer

Not since 2013 have the Mackay Meteors missed finals basketball, with that streak continuing in 2023.

The NBL1 North juggernaut, which has claimed four championships in the past 12 seasons, finished fifth with an 11-8 record following their 102-84 defeat of Red City at the weekend.

It means Mackay will travel to Hibiscus Sports Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday to suit up against the South West Metro Pirates in a cutthroat quarter final.

Meteors coach Joel Khalu believes his side heads into the clash as underdogs.

“There’s more pressure on South West than there is on us, they finished fourth and they’re at home, you’re kind of expected to win home quarter finals.” Khalu said.

“I think there’ll be a little bit of expectation and pressure on them to get through, especially with the line-up that they’ve got.

Joel Khalu addresses his troops.

“We can kind of come in and play a little bit looser, I think no one’s really picked us to go there and beat them, so I think there’s a bit more pressure on them in that space.”

That’s not to say he doesn’t have confidence in his Meteors, citing their defence as key.

“Match-up wise out of the quarter finals in terms of teams that we could’ve faced, this is probably the best match-up for us out of that group,” he said.

“(South West) has a lot of offensive firepower, they’ve got multiple guys that can score and put up big numbers really quickly. It’s gonna have to become a bit of a defensive grind for us and if we wanna get that win, it’s certainly gonna be dictated by how we defend.

“If we can keep it in that 80-point mark, 80-85, if we can keep it around that I think that’ll give us a chance, if it gets to the 90s to 100s, that’s where they love to live, they want a free-flowing game whereas we want a bit of a grind.”

Christian Maran is hot heading into the finals, he dropped 23 points at 64.3% from the field last game. Picture: Mitch Dyer

So, with as many as five games standing between the Meteors and their fifth championship, what sets this group apart?

Khalu lists the three pillars to their success below:

Championship experience

“We’ve got a number of guys that have been there and won it multiple times, I think that’s a big one for us,” Khalu said.

“Winning is a bit of a habit, we’ve been able to build up the habit overtime.”

Defence

“I think we were the second best team overall defensively in the league this year, in terms of points per game allowed and opposition field-goal percent,” he said.

“As a coach, that’s something I pride myself on, I think championships are won on the defensive end, so it gives us a good opportunity.”

Pace

“We’ve got a group that can get up and down, play with a lot of speed, a lot of energy, we can shoot the ball really well once we get going,” he said.

“We’re a little bit unpredictable with our offence in that, and I think sometimes that makes us a little bit more of a threat because we’re a little bit harder to guard, particularly when we’ve got so many weapons all over the floor.”