Nunawading Spectres turn to their veterans as NBL1 finals start against Frankston Blues

Nunawading has had some line-up hassles this NBL1 season but on the eve of a playoff clash with the Frankston Blues, coach Dave Biwer has praised his veterans

Nunawading Spectres coach Dave Biwer Picture: Janine Eastgate

Nunawading Spectres coach Dave Biwer is confident his veteran group will hold up throughout the NBL1 finals campaign.

The Spectres travel to Frankston to play the Blues in a qualifying final on Saturday night, with Biwer not concerned about hitting the road to begin the post-season challenge.

“We are 9-1 on the road so I’m not that worried about heading down to Frankston,” he said.

“That said, they do seem like the team that’s in form right now. They’ve got a lot of weapons, a fast break team that we will need to contain.

“Now it’s more about what they’re doing because we are pretty locked into what we are doing.”

Nunawading has endured a disrupted year in terms of player availability with the likes of Tom Wright, Andrew Steel and Lucas Walker all missing chunks of the season because of international 3x3 commitments.

However, the Spectres’ winning culture has seen them cope with a fluid roster, youngsters stepping up at key points of the season.

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Nunawading Spectres veteran Simon Conn Picture: Peter Ristevski

Biwer thinks that blend of young players gaining confidence and veterans understanding post-season pressure, will be a big plus for Nunawading’s finals series.

“It comes down to that veteran status,” Biwer said. “When guys are out, Simon Conn and Shane McDonald seem to step up a little bit more and take a little more of a scoring role. When the scorers come back in like Tom Wright and Andrew Steel, you see Shane’s assist levels go up a little bit.

“Credit to our guys, we had a lot more guys out this year than what we have previously but guys like Luke Van Rijn and Ben Ayre really stepped up in that thick of the season where we needed wins to cement that top four spot and they did a great job.

“As much as it is tough with the in and out to get that chemistry right, the veteran status of it all kept the team in the right stead and now we are sitting pretty good for this final run home.”

Nunawading guard Shane McDonald Picture: Janine Eastgate

Biwer said 2017 NBL champion Lucas Walker should play on Saturday night, after injury kept him out of the Spectres’ round 15 clash with Eltham.

“I think he will be fine — I will be surprised if he is not out there,” Biwer said.

Nunawading takes on Frankston on Saturday night with tip-off scheduled for 7.30pm.