NBL1: Ballarat Miners at home is a big ask but Nunawading Spectres set eyes on championship
His Nunawading Spectres may be facing the biggest test in NBL1 basketball, but Dave Biwer reckons they can get over the Ballarat Miners
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Dave Biwer isn’t letting his Nunawading Spectres off the hook.
The veteran coach has one thing in mind and that’s winning the NBL1 men’s championship.
If they are to achieve that goal, the Spectres must navigate their way past the No. 1 seeds, the Ballarat Miners, in Saturday night’s preliminary final.
It’s a massive task, going on the road to take down the team that has held top spot for majority of the season, but Biwer is ready to tackle it head on.
“I’ve heard a lot about people playing without expectations and how much easier it is to play,” Biwer said. “I think it’s important that people can play with expectation in my team. I haven’t shied away from that. We are going for one thing and that’s the championship. We will put that pressure on the players because we know what makes us good.
“We think, if we do what we can do, we can come away with the W.”
MORE BASKETBALL NEWS
MITCH CREEK BACK FROM NBA TO LEAD PHOENIX
CARAVAN KING HOOKS UP THE DANDENONG RANGERS
NBA STARS BUY INTO THE PHOENIX
LADY HAWKS GROUNDED BY SPECTRES
The Miners have been the benchmark this season, with a stacked roster consisting of NBL players Deng Acuoth, Kuany Kuany and Sam Short, alongside former NBL player Jerry Evans Jr.
Biwer is aware of the challenge they will present, while also noting the ability of Ballarat coach Brendan Joyce.
“They have been on top and on top for a reason,” Biwer said. “They’ve got a good group of guys, individually talented and seem to play well. It’s going to be a great game, a tough game. We are going to need to play our best to get the win in Ballarat.
“It’s a unique situation in the fact that they are individually talented, but their coach has got a lot of structure to him and a lot of discipline to him.
“We have to contain their athleticism and their individual game but also we need to look at tactically what Joyce is going to do against us. They’re the No. 1 team because of that combination.”
Just a week after a slow start against Frankston, the Spectres were again jumped early in the semi-final against the Geelong Supercats last week.
“We got jumped again,” Biwer said. “The fightback was there, the same as it was against Frankston. It’s good to see we got that kind of heart and desire. It’s always nice to know that we are never going to give up.
“It’s a mental thing, so it’s already been discussed. It’s not something any coach will keep talking about. It’s definitely not for me, once it’s addressed and the guys know it is there, it’s their job to fix it.”
Ballarat and Nunawading will do battle in an NBL1 men’s preliminary final on Saturday night (7.30pm tipoff). The other preliminary final will be between the Frankston Blues and Bendigo Braves at the same time.