For Lion’s coach Scott Whitmore the game had an extra emotional resonance as his father had passed away on the Tuesday before the game. He said “It was probably the most emotional game of my life, it was highly emotional. We thought we were prepared but it was just amazing!”

Whitmore said the Lion’s victory was “The most unbelievable feeling in that it was already a really emotional week, we hadn’t made a final in 21 years, and it was just an awesome come back for the win!”

The Rockets got off to a strong start in the Lion’s den at Starplex, despite the intimidating roaring pride of Lion’s fans courtside. On paper the Rockets and the Lions are closely matched and the opening period saw both teams asserting themselves, wrestling for an early upper hand. The Lion’s got away with a decent 6 point lead at the first quarter break.

However the second quarter was a disaster for the hosts who scored only 6 points to North’s 22. North Adelaide’s defensive pressure and tenacity on the board gave the Lion’s little opportunity to answer North’s avalanche of baskets. Rocket’s player/coach Pero Vasiljevic made 12 rebounds in the match whilst his team-mates Rowe and Wernham made 9 and 8 respectively.

Coach Whitmore credited the Rockets defence and his team’s lack of intensity for the drop in Central’s scoring rate during the quarter, he said “We just dried up offensively. They (the Rockets) changed up their defence and we just got a little tentative. We stopped being aggressive, our energy and effort dropped away a little bit. We missed some easy shots, we took some early shots we shouldn’t have and we just weren’t very patient”.

At the half time break things we relooking bleak for the Lion’s “We had started well and then we were 19 down and I think most people were planning the off season” joked Whitmore.

However the Lion’s returned from the half time break with an unexpected ferocity taking the Rockets by surprise. Import Kyle Miller stepped up for Centrals finding his rhythm after a subdued start to the game. “He came out in the third quarter really aggressive. In the first play of the third quarter, he came off a high screen and hit a deep three and then decided to attack the rim a whole lot more and leave it all out on the court.” Whitmore said.

“There was a stage in the last six minutes of the third quarter where we went on a 25 to 5 run, and then there was the three Miller hit on the ¾ time buzzer, he hit it past the red line! It just ignited us, he ignited us, and the crowd went off which lifted us even more”.

The Lion’s sealed the deal with consistent shooting and significant momentum behind them, turning around a 19 point deficit to a 12 point win. The Rocket’s top shooters were Ryan Franceschinis (22), Pero Vasiljevic (15) and Thomas Rowe (10) while Centrals shared the bulk of the matches scoring between Kyle Miller (26), Chris Clausen (20) and rising star Jordan Centernera (17).

Whitmore was full of praise for the young Centernera who wasn’t even been born the last time the Lion’s played a final. “Jordan was outstanding, even though he wasn’t our top scorer, he was probably our best player because of what he did defensively as well as when he scored and how he scored. He certainly didn’t act like a 20 year old who had never played a final”.

The Lions win has galvanised the teams drive towards Grand Final said Whitmore. “It was a bit like ok we have qualified after 21 years, we have had a good season, are we satisfied with that? And we have always said no, but you never really test that until you are 19 down and you are looking at an off season and you are thinking right are we going to give this a crack? Do we belong here? Or have we achieved everything by just making it? And the guys said ‘There has got to be more to it than this’ So after the game the win seemed to have installed some belief in the group that we belong here and we could make a deep run, because these guys just never give up”

Whitmore now takes his team to St Clair to face the Woodville Warriors, his former club and team of 15 years. Scott was named in the Warriors ‘Greatest Team of All Time’, having played over 400 ABA games and scoring more than 4000 points for the club. He is a Life Member of Woodville, a former Captain, MVP and Best and Fairest. And now he returns, looking to take away their finals dream.

“It’s no secret that I wanted to face Woodville in a final. Going to St Clair to face the Warriors is a fantastic story for me. It’s the only team we haven’t beaten this year, and with my relationship with some of those players, given that it’s the only club I have ever played at and I am a life member, a hall of famer and they retired my jersey, with all of that, it’s going to be huge for me”

Whitmore said his team was respectful of the task ahead of them and of the quality of their opponents but that the Lion’s are “looking forward to the challenge, it will be a test, we are definitely going in as underdogs but we are happy with that”.

The Woodville Warriors will take on the Central District Lions in the CABL Men’s first Semi Final at 8:15 on Saturday August 17 at St Clair Recreation Centre.

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