The dust has settled on the regular season for the Pakenham Youth Men with the team’s sight now set on the finals.
Despite having the best percentage in all of Youth League One, the Warriors finished third on the table due to being a game behind Ringwood in the win column and McKinnon holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.
This sets up a home elimination final this week against Camberwell.
Pakenham finished its regular season by claiming victory away at Blackburn, edging out the Vikings 81-89.
The Warriors struggled shooting from the floor, but a strong effort defensively and on the glass was enough to claw out the victory.
The visitors won the rebound count 47-57 and held Blackburn to 39 percent shooting.
Braden Venning’s side concluded the home-and-away section of its season with an impressive record of 17-5.
It’s been a year of development, learning and adjustment for the squad as they continue to navigate being promoted to a higher tier of Big V basketball.
The Warriors opened the season with three massive wins, followed by three defeats, leaving them at a square 3-3.
From there, Pakenham won 14 of its last 16 to head into the postseason beaming with confidence.
Venning says it’s a testament to the investment and commitment of his group and the club.
“It’s something I’ve told the group, it’s something they should be really proud of,” he said of his team’s regular season.
“To step up a division and still have that same success, it just proves the quality of players and strength that we have within our program.
“One of our keys is depth and across all of our games it’s been really spread, even scoring.
“It’s really cool to see that the things in coaching and at the club that we’re pushing is having success at the high levels.
“To see the players step up and take their opportunities and make the most of it and just continue to succeed is really promising.
“We always have that next man up mentality.
“It does mean players probably get less of a run that they deserve but that’s where you look at the connectedness and the camaraderie of the team, we don’t have egos so people are happy to play their role.
“We’re all happy for each other’s success which is really cool.
“We had three early losses, which put us at 3-3.
“After three big wins, we had three wake-up calls which really taught us a lot and made us look back at ourselves and focus on the little things and we’re seeing that pay off now.
“We’re building good habits and continuing to improve which is promising.”
Finals basketball is notorious for slowing down and becoming more half-court oriented, so adjustments will need to be made.
Gameplans become more important than ever, with coaching one of the most pivotal parts of a successful postseason run.
“We know we play well with pace, so we’ll be looking to increase the pace and keep it at that level because we know finals slows down,” Venning said of the keys heading into the week.
“Our mentality doesn’t change, it’s another game and another chance to show what we can do.
“As long as we stick to our structures and our general philosophies and game style, we’ll be fine.
“We’ve got to be ready for all the counters, that’s the whole thing with finals, you’re seeing teams that have had an extended look at you.
“We know in finals all of our games are elimination, there’s no second chances.”
In the regular season, Pakenham was the second-fastest team in the competition, playing with a pace of 87.3 (pace is measured by how many possessions a team has in a game).
The defensive DNA of the Warriors will be important in Saturday’s matchup, creating easy offence through turnovers and missed shots.
With the preparation and scouting ramping up, Pakenham has a prime opportunity to make a big splash in a higher division of hoops.
CHAMPIONSHIP MEN
With two rounds to go, the Pakenham Championship Men have its two most important games for the season ahead.
Significant pressure was applied to the Warriors on Saturday when Melbourne University upset McKinnon and Shepparton hit a game-winning three to shock Hume City, putting Pakenham’s position in fifth in major jeopardy.
However, the response was significant from Luke Curry’s men as they convincingly handled business against Wyndham 90-105 at Cardinia Life.
Steve Coffey’s fantastic late-season form has been a welcome sight for the Warriors as the star guard put up 16 points and seven assists.
Elijah Tillman was up to his usual interior production, securing a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Cody Fredrickson added 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Ned Carr provided 15 points and Josh Dow scored 10.
Pakenham is still clinging to fifth spot, the final finals position, with critical games against second-placed Hume City and fourth-placed RMIT to conclude the campaign.
The Warriors will need to win both to guarantee their spot because dropping even one could see Melbourne Uni or Shepparton sneak in.
CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN
The Championship Women are sitting comfortably in second on the table with two games to go and a finals spot clinched.
A win over seventh-seeded Hume City on Sunday would further guarantee the Warriors a top-two finish.
This positioning was fuelled by a pair of victories over the weekend as Pakenham knocked off Wyndham and Bulleen.
The first 85-94 win away at Eagle Stadium was thanks to Eliza Hollingsworth, who dominated, stuffing the stat sheet with 30 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and four blocks.
Grace Graham was also stellar, recording 26 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, six steals and three blocks, falling just two blocks short of the heralded five-by-five statline.
Back at home on Sunday, the Warriors put together a brilliant second half to overrun the Boomers 88-65.
Graham top-scored with 28 points and seven steals and Hollingsworth provided her usual double-double effort as she had 13 points and 12 boards.
Abbey Lee-Wood was also in double-figures with 16 points.
Pakenham now faces Hume City at home this week before closing the regular season at Cardinia Life against McKinnon.
