Altona Gators will go into the Easter break with an undesirable 0-3 record in the Big V basketball men’s division 2, but coach Des Radoslovic is not disheartened with what he has seen from his team so far this season.
The Gators opened the season with two tough road games and were in positions to win late in games against Mildura Heat and Wallan Panthers before suffering narrow defeats.
Their home opener on Sunday was the Gators low point so far, losing 63-45 to the Coburg Giants at the Altona Basketball Stadium .
It was a lack of execution, rather than effort, the cost the Gators a chance of victory in front of their home fans.
“We just could not hit a shot,” Radoslovic said.
“At one stage in the second quarter, we were 3-from-27 from the field.
“The guys kept fighting for the whole game, we won the second half, we kept on rebounding and sticking to their guns, but we couldn’t hit a shot.
“Sometimes it happens.”
Altona sorely missed the direction and scoring punch provided homegrown point guard Nathanael Coory.
Coory only managed five minutes in Saturday night’s loss to Wallan before he went to hospital following a head clash, which ruled him out of the Sunday game against Coburg.
“He’s probably one of our most important players, one of our juniors who has come up,” Radoslovic said.
“He was our leading scorer in round one, but five minutes into the Wallan game, his forehead clashed into the Wallan players chin.
“He’s got a cut right between the eyes and he needed seven stitches, so he went to hospital and couldn’t play the rest of the game obviously and missed today’s game too.
“Even though he’s young, he’s our floor general, so it hurt us today.”
Altona has an extended break between games due to Easter.
Radoslovic will add more layers to the Gators game plan in preparation for a huge game against Melton Thoroughbreds on April 8.
“It’s a big game for us,” Radoslovic said.
“We’ve got two weeks to bring in a few more variations of what we do.
“There’s still 19 games to go in the season – a very long time.
“If we keep doing the right things, we’re unlucky not to have a win on the board already, it will turn.”
