Honest talk the way back to action for Bendigo

A candid and sincere team chat after two tough losses could be the secret to putting the Bendigo Bank Braves back on the winner’s list for the NBL1 South finals.

Bendigo ended the season with two losses on the road on the weekend, against Kilsyth and arch-rivals Ballarat.

Bendigo pushed third-placed Kilsyth all the way on Saturday night, ruing a slow start to go down 78-83.

Luke Rosendale (22 points) and Mitch Clarke (16) led the scoring for Bendigo, with yet another strong defensive contribution from Sidy Djitee (15 points and 15 rebounds).

Bendigo again struggled from the outset the next day against Ballarat. A big second half from Kuany Kuany (24 points) and another impressive game from Rosendale (22) couldn’t get Bendigo home, as they went down 88-98.

But it was what happened in the rooms after the Ballarat loss that impressed coach Stephen Black.

“Straight after the game the team began reflecting on the things we need to do to get back on track,” he said.

“I was really impressed the group was able to identify how we get back to playing the basketball we were a couple of weeks ago.

“We’ve got a group of guys who want to be successful. It was easy for them after the game to speak in a really positive and constructive way.

“We came away knowing what we have to do to be successful in the finals. I’m feeling really good about our ability to get back and capture that form.”

Black acknowledged the weekend was not the way his team wanted to play.

“It was a really tough weekend,” he said.

“It was disappointing from a results perspective, but also the way we went about our basketball.

“But we are happy our good work throughout the season has put us in a position to have a home playoff game.”

Bendigo takes on Knox at Red Energy Area at 7pm Saturday in an Elimination Final.  

Photo credit - Akuna Phtography