ONE look at the scoreboard at full-time in Tamworth on Saturday night didn’t make for pretty reading.
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Port Macquarie Dolphins coach Mark Champion knew before tip-off at the Thunderdome it was going to be a struggle.
In the end, the Thunderbolts 12-man rotation was always going to prove far too strong for the Dolphins seven-man equivalent.
And so it proved as the hosts cruised to a 94-43 victory.
Champion has always been a realist and while he acknowledged last year’s runners-up were too good, he was also encouraged by the performance of his own side.
“It was a fair reflection of the game in general, but I was really proud of the effort of the boys; they didn’t quit,” he said.
“Port Macquarie has always had a history of going to Tamworth and not winning with much better sides.
“It could have been worse.”
Delays meant it was a slow trip up and over the mountain and things didn’t get better once the team arrived.
Nobody likes losing and no one gave up because we were being beaten.
- Dolphins coach Mark Champion
They only had just enough time to drop their bags at the hotel before going straight out to the court.
The Thunderbolts always looked in control and surged to a 10-point lead at the first change before they slowly increased their advantage and pulled away in the final term.
“Tamworth are a great side, but the boys kept fighting to the end,” Champion said.
“Nobody likes losing and no one gave up because we were being beaten.”
The coach was also encouraged by his players positive mindset following the one-sided defeat.
“They were all talking about how they can be better and what they can improve on and that’s really encouraging to hear as a coach,” Champion said.
“We did some good things throughout the match and we competed well for most of it, but a lot of it came down to second and third efforts.”
Champion admitted they had work to do, especially on rebounds.
I’ve got no doubt our players have the talent and commitment, but they just don’t have those years of coaching and discipline yet.
- Mark Champion
“We were beaten soundly there and although we contested them, we didn’t do enough,” he said.
“Some of that comes down to the fact we tired easily because we just didn’t have the bench to be able to compete.”
Champion said game management was what his players lacked, but was confident it would come with time.
“I’ve got no doubt our players have the talent and commitment, but they just don’t have those years of coaching and discipline yet,” he said.
Thunderbolts coach John Ireland was happy with his team’s performance that kept their unbeaten record in tact.
“It was a scrappy sort of a game,” he said.
“Port were obviously under-strength with only seven players, and for a lot of those players it was probably their first taste of Division 1 men’s basketball.”
