Geraldton Buccaneers coach Ray Evans says he has not thrown in the towel for 2012 and says the team can still make the finals series.

He said if the Buccaneers win their remaining five games they can still make the finals race, despite crashing to their 14th loss of the season on Saturday in Kalgoorlie.

Evans conceded that one more slip up will spell the end of Geraldton’s season.

“I think one more loss and finals are definitely out of the picture for us,” he said.

“We need to win all of our games and hope results go our way.

“All we can do is train hard this week and hopefully beat Kalamunda Eastern Suns this weekend.”

Evans said a number of factors have contributed to a difficult season on the court.

“Injuries have hurt us and tested our depth and our depth probably has not quite been where we hoped it would be,” he said.

“When Morgan came into the line-up we thought we would be in a better position, he has been more of a saviour rather than another weapon.”

The Buccs will be keeping a close eye on Perry Lakes’ and Willetton’s results over the next few weeks.

Perry Lakes and Willetton occupy seventh and eighth positions on the ladder respectively, three games ahead of the Buccs.

Evans said his men will need to lift their defensive intensity and rebounding if they are to make a fairytale run for eighth position.

“We were out-rebounded by something crazy like 20 rebounds on Saturday,” he said.

“We started really well and probably should have been up by 10 points at quarter time, but we gave them (Goldfields Giants) some really easy baskets.

“It was a disappointing weekend because we were confident heading into the game.”

Article by Taylor Courtland (Geraldton Guardian)
Photo from Geraldton Guardian