THERE’S going to be a sense of deja vu for the Bathurst Goldminers this Saturday when they travel to face the Illawarra Hawks in men’s Youth League basketball.
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Goldminers produced one of their best performances of the season when they last faced the Hawks this season – a 96-72 win – and it came after a poor performance against the Liverpool-Macarthur Razorbacks.
A depleted Goldminers squad went down to the Razorbacks last round, so Bathurst coach Andrew Osborn is hopeful his side can bounce back to their best and make history repeat itself against Illawarra.
“We had a similar sort of training session to the one we had after our first game against Liverpool, however, my approach was totally different,” he said.
“Last time I tore shreds off them over their physical game ... but this time it was talking about the mental side of the game and the need to recognise we have to play as a team.
“Against Liverpool we were poor both in offence and defence.
“Our players will be much more fresh for this match and I’ll have almost as strong a squad as I can get together, minus Zak Simons who is preparing for Australian 16s Championships.”
When it comes to Hawks the philosophy from Osborn is simple: Why change a good thing?
His team’s high pressing game took Illawarra apart earlier this year.
“We just have to slow their offence down, keep the ball under pressure in their back court and not allow them to get their offence flowing. That’s what worked last time,” he said.
“If we do that then hopefully we can pick up some early baskets … and get some momentum going off that.
“We don’t want to drop any more games, but if we want that we’ve got to improve in all aspects.”
Goldminers play at the unusually earlier time of 10.30am on Saturday morning.
Osborn’s team will travel on Friday night to ensure they’re fresh for the match.