This Saturday night at the nest our Youth Men take on the Melbourne Tigers in the Elimination Final. Tip off at 7:30pm!

Coach Preview- Trevor Lee

Welcome to the Eagles Nest!

Saturday July 20^th we welcomed Sherbrooke Suns to our home court. This was our first and only meeting with Sherbrooke for 2013. With Sherbrooke holding down 4^th spot on the Terrill ladder, we knew this was not going to be a walk in the park.

Sherbrooke held a handy 8 point lead at the first break. We won the 2^nd quarter by 3 points however, we were still trailing by 5 at the main break. A few words of encouragement at half time and a few adjustments to what we do, and we won the 3^rd quarter by 3 points, still leaving us down 2 points at ¾ time. We, as coaches, were trying everything to get the right mix of players on the floor, and seemed to be slowly, very slowly, making ground. The last quarter was a slog, point for point, until we finally got our noses in front. Winning the quarter by 3 points gave us a 1 point victory. This was one of our tightest games of the year. The pleasing thing to come out of it was the way the guys chased, shared the ball (with a total 22 assists), and kept their nerve (only turning the ball over 6 times for the match). This was a ‘win ugly, and get out of there’ game.

 

Matt Jackson 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists

Joel Bellman 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

Nick Dean 16 points, 4 assists

 

Sunday July 21^st we travelled to Waverley looking for a win. A win by 10 or more would secure us 1^st position on the Watson ladder. We started the game well, and competed in all aspects of the game. Leading at the main break by 9 points was not enough. To their credit the boys went on with it to hold a 17 point lead at ¾ time. Waverley came back hard in the 4^th quarter to cut our final winning margin to 9 points. It was a fast running game, and had all players pretty well exhausted by the end. Going into the finals, it was great to get the win against the top side. The way the guys again shared the ball (total 19 assists) to get that one extra pass for a clear shot, and turning the ball over only 9 times for the match was pleasing.

 

Nick Dean 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

Matt Jackson 19 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists

Mitch Lee 15 points, 2 assists

James Penny 10 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists

A great weekend to finish off the regular season. I am very proud of the way we handled ourselves this weekend.

So here we are again, finals time! This time of year is what the last 5 months have been about. A very exciting time of year. Our opponents, our old sparring partner Melbourne Tigers. Melbourne and Diamond Valley have had some great stoushes over the 5 years I’ve been involved in the youth program, and I don’t expect anything different tonight.

 

This weekend is a- cut-throat elimination final. Melbourne Tigers are a talented, athletic team, and we will need to defend like there is no tomorrow! We must be on our game from the first whistle. We need 100% intensity and effort the full length of the court for a full 40 minutes. We must have 100% commitment from every player. We did not come all this way to let ourselves down now. We look forward to hitting the floor and coming away with a win.

A little bit of house-keeping before I finish.

We wish to thank a few people:-

• Bendigo Bank for their continued sponsorship
• M & M Printworks, Joe thank you for your support and sponsorship
• Members of the 300 Club for their continued sponsorship
• Game Day volunteers, score table and statisticians who do a great job every week.
• Diamond Valley Domestic Clubs for providing their support and to the teams of the week. We have enjoyed doing clinics with the kids when possible.
• To the parents, partners and supporters thank you for your support
• DVBA Board and Staff for their support of the Senior Program across the year.
• Last, but certainly not least, to our wonderful parents, families and partners who worked tirelessly at the after match function. I don’t want to name you all, for fear of leaving someone out. You know who you all are. A VERY big thank you. I think we all know that you guys put on the best spread in the competition!

Go Eagles!

Thank you

Coach: Trevor Lee