By Lance Jenkinson
Altona Gators are shattered to see the Big V basketball men’s division 2 season come to an end.
The Gators saved their best till last with three wins to round out the season.
Gators coach Des Radoslovic reckons his team was close to reaching its peak in July.
“Last weekend we beat the top team and won our double header and we rounded out the season with a win today,” he said.
“Often when you get to the end of a season, you’re looking forward to a bit of a break and you can reset.
“We’ve kind of been improving as a group chemistry-wise and the team has been playing better and better the longer the season has gone on.
“We’re almost ready for the next season to start straight away.”
Altona finished the season in ninth place, just three wins off a play-off berth.
It was a tough outcome for the Gators, who showed they could match it with any team in the play-offs.
“We had a tough first month, but since then we’ve been playing pretty consistent basketball all along,” Radoslovic said.
“We’ve had a lot of close losses and that’s what has knocked us out of finals contention.
“We were pretty much in every game and we’ve beaten or challenged every team up the top of the ladder.”
Altona had a superb 73-63 win on the road over Pakenham Warriors at Cardinia Life Stadium.
It was a great atmosphere on the Gators bench as Radoslovic spread the minutes around and rewarded his role players with extended court time.
Centre James Till, with 17 points and eight rebounds, and point guard Nathanael Coory, with 20 points and seven rebounds, still had a big say for the Gators, but all players featured for 10 or more minutes, with James Al-Mourani, with seven points and six rebounds, and Carson McSweeney, with four points and seven rebounds, impacting of the bench.
The future is bright for Altona.
Radoslovic aims to bring this group back together next season, but will hope to make one or two additions in the off season that could turn them from an also-ran to a title contender.
“I feel like we have a really good core of players now,” Radoslovic said.
“They’re getting to know each other’s games better and actually starting to play good basketball as a group.
“There’s so much good chemistry within the team and good camaraderie on and off the court, which is very important.”
