Shepparton Gators make finals on final day

It came down to the last bounce in the previous game of the regular season.

The Gators travelled away to Broadmeadows to take on the formidable Hume City Broncos on Saturday night, August 3.

Sitting one spot out of finals at sixth, Shepparton needed Pakenham to drop points to have a shot at leapfrogging it.

In a spectacular game, Pakenham lost by three points to Bellarine earlier in the day.

So, heading into the clash against Hume, the Gators knew they had their destiny in their own hands.

The two squads went blow for blow throughout the first three quarters.

Hume tallied some spectacular blocks and Shepparton’s Canadian import Jayden Coke had a spectacular slam dunk over a Hume player.

Heading into the fourth, the score was levelled at 59-59.

Hume came out and hit some tough shots from outside and with five minutes left Shepparton trailed by eight.

American import Devin Thomas used some elbow grease to get a tough bucket on the interior to cut into the lead.

Shepparton began to tighten the screws on the defensive end.

Kiwi sharpshooter Dylan Wilkie locked up Hume’s top scorer, Scott Stone, holding him to five out of 20 shots for the game.

Wilkie forced Stone to chuck up a chorus of tough jump shots, all offline, allowing Shepparton to get downhill and attack the bucket in transition.

Coke drove in and threw up a prayer while falling, looking for a foul.

Both comedically and crucially, it ended up being a perfect pass, the ball dropping into Nick Dodd’s lap to put it up and in.

Shepparton continued to turn up the defensive pressure, forcing misses, getting rebounds and throwing quick outlet passes.

Coke set up Wilkie in transition for an easy two before going himself to get all the way to the basket and complete the comeback to tie the game with less than three minutes left.

Hume regained the lead through free throws before Coke found Wilkie again, this time for a three and a one-point lead.

Thomas followed this up with a huge three of his own, handing the Gators a four-point lead.

Hume again was awarded and converted a pair of free throws.

Shepparton had a two-point lead with about 30 seconds left in the game.

New Zealand point guard Josh Kooiman, who had struggled shooting the ball, called his own number and converted a floater to seal the deal.

Wilkie splashed in some free throws to inflate the lead and Shepparton took the win 84-76.

Shepparton closed the season with five straight wins, securing the last available finals spot.

The Gators were elated following the final buzzer, celebrating with a reasonably large and loud Shepparton crowd that made the two-hour trip.

Head coach Josh Waight said he was relieved there was some gold at the end of the rainbow for his side.

“We said we’d play our best basketball at the end of the year and we’ve started to do that,” he said.

“To play and lock in finals now is even better.

“They were locked in, we knew we had to win because our destiny was in our own hands.

“We’ll enjoy it now, but tomorrow it’s back to business.”

Big man Thomas led the Gators in scoring and rebounding with 27 and 15, showing off his range with four of his eight three-point attempts finding net.

The game was also on the eve of his birthday and he said he couldn’t have asked for a better present than finals basketball.

“I feel great, man,” Thomas said.

“We came in and got it done, it’s a good way to mark my birthday.

“We were down a couple, but we saw it through and came back.

“We’ve come back from a lot more than that.

“It’s tough beating a team two times in a row, but we know we can get it done.”

Shepparton Gators will play Hume City in an elimination final at Broadmeadows Basketball Stadium on Sunday, August 11, at 1pm.