THE Goldfields Giants ended the Willetton Tigers’ 2009 campaign on Saturday night, but the reigning State Basketball League champion’s season appears far from over.

The Shamus Ballantyne-inspired Giants swept to their sixth successive win 104-89 at Kalgoorlie’s Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium over a Willetton side needing a win to make the play-offs.

Ballantyne’s 21 points and 13 assists in just 26 minutes on court put an end to those aspirations, setting up a quarter-finals showdown with Kalamunda next Saturday.

The Giants will play the first leg of the best-of-three series on the road before returning home for game two and three, if required, on August 1 and 2.

Goldfields head into the play-offs full of confidence having equalled their club record for wins in a regular season, winning 21 out of a possible 26 games to finish second behind Lakeside (22-4).

The Giants were never challenged by Willetton after a brilliant start ensured they led 39-23 at quarter-time.

Giants import Michael Haney was influential early as the former NCAA player took the game right up to Willetton’s Danish recruit Chris Christoferssen.

At 220cm, or seven-foot-two in the old scale, Christoferssen is the SBL’s tallest player since former NBA star Luc Longley in 1990. To say 198cm Haney was fighting out of his weight division is quite something for the strongly-built American, but he nullified Christoferssen’s height advantage with some typically aggressive playmaking.

Christoferssen’s foul shooting also let the Giants off the hook, converting just one of 11 from the free-throw line.

The Giants led 66-47 at half-time and stretched the lead to as much as 36 points in the third period.

Giants forward Todd Earle provided some firepower off the bench, scoring 23 points which included five of 10 from three-point range.

Giants coach Stephen Charlton grabbed the opportunity to rest his starting five, with the likes of Russell Hurst, Peter Toman and Lewis Mann all getting valuable court time.

Seventeen-year-old guard Tane Moran and 195cm forward Garry Sidebottom, 16, also gave a glimpse of the Giants’ future when they stepped out for the final four minutes of the game. Moran scored the first points of his SBL career in his sixth game in Giants’ colours, but only the second time he has played.

After the game, Charlton said the Giants were well poised to push for a hat-trick of SBL titles.

“In the last month we’ve played five of the other teams in the play-offs,” Charlton said.

“We’ve won a lot of those games and it’s hardened us up and moved us into a play-offs ready mindset.

“We’re feeling a lot more confident than we were a month ago and really looking forward to the next few weeks.”

A huge plus for the Giants is Ballantyne who has struck form at the perfect time, averaging 17.7 points and 9.2 assists in the past eight games.

Ballantyne played his 150th game for the Giants and 262nd overall on Saturday. The 2007 grand final MVP has made a habit of saving his best for the most important part of the season.

“You should see him at training – every year come play-offs Shamus is like ‘let’s go’,” Charlton said.

Article by Jarrod Lucas (Kalgoorlie Miner)
Photo by Travis Anderson - Andmedia/Sports Vision ©2009.