Buccs wary of Cougars' tall timber
Geraldton Buccaneers’ import Luke Meyer believes Cockburn Cougars cannot be underestimated at Tip Top Stadium tomorrow night.
“I hope we win, but we can’t take them lightly,” Meyer said.
“They are a really good team with a lot of really good weapons. But we’ve prepared well and hopefully we can get a good result on Saturday.”
A win will grant the Buccaneers passage to the State Basketball League semi-finals.
A loss will have the two teams suit up again for a do or die showdown at noon on Sunday.
The Buccs go into the second quarter-final clash with a one game cushion after beating the Cougars on their home soil 111-105 last week.
One particular weapon in the Cougars arsenal is forward Bryce Burch.
The 2004 Goldfield Giants’ MVP has averaged over 20 points a game so far this year.
He will need to be tamed if the Buccs are to advance to the semi-final’s on Saturday, August 8 against Perth Redbacks or Lakeside Lightning.
The Cougars are a towering side and Meyer thinks the key to victory will be keep the play tight under the Buccs’ hoop.
“We’ve got to control the amount of points they get in the paint, they’re a big team,” he said.
“We also need to control the ball because they like to get up in the passing lanes and try to cause a lot of turnovers. If we can do that I think we should be ok.
The Buccs brought an end to their five-game losing streak with victory over the Cougars at home on July 18.
Although Meyer was unable to put his finger on the reason for the Buccs’ recent dip in form, he feels they learned a lot from it. “I think that it has made us a lot stronger and allowed us to identify our weaknesses and we’re starting to play a lot better again. Hopefully it keeps going.”
“The title is our ultimate goal but we want to take it one game at a time.
“We can’t look too far ahead because a team will knock you off, but we definitely have the ability to go all the way.”
The Buccs and Cougars tip-off at 7.30pm tonight night.
See Monday’s Geraldton Guardian for a full review.
Article & Photo from Geraldton Guardian (Tom Davis)
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