The Mid Canterbury side that will head to Christchurch to play in the division one men’s basketball final today, bar Gareth Hunt. Photo Erin TaskerMid Canterbury’s first men’s team to tackle big city basketball in 20 years started the season with their sights set on a top six finish.

They did that, and then kept on going, fighting their way through to the final of Canterbury Basketball’s division one competition.

That final will play out at Cowles Stadium in Christchurch this afternoon, where their opposition will be an Atami Casa De Banos side that they have a bit of unfinished business with.

Mid Canterbury coach Brian Kerr said his side has played the Atami side twice already this season – once in the round robin where Mid Canterbury came out on top 85-68, and then again in the top six where Atami came out on top by just two points in one of the most tense finishes of the season.

“The game we lost by two, the boys played obviously really well, but we didn’t have big Jase, and it makes a bit difference,” Kerr said.

That “big Jase” is Jason Greig, who towers above most opposing players at a massive seven-foot tall.

He’s been one of Mid Canterbury’s key players this season, but Kerr said every member of the squad has played a part.

Before this season, Mid Canterbury’s last appearance on the Canterbury club scene was in 1999, in the premier grade, and while this year’s side may not have been the biggest or the most experienced, they have a lot of heart and play every week for each other, Kerr said.

He said defence has been key for his side this season.

Halfway through the season things weren’t going quite as they’d hoped. They sat down together and captain Pip Johnston told them they needed to refocus.

So they did. They made a few changes to the way they went into games, and those changes paid off.

“The guys have got all the skills and ability, it’s just a matter of focusing on the job at hand and doing the business,” Kerr said.

“When we get running, a lot of teams just can’t keep up.”

Kerr said at the start of the season, top six had been their goal.

“We left it pretty tight because we were running fifth or sixth, but when we just started focusing on what we wanted to do, we started winning, and we started winning well,” Kerr said.

Today, in the final, the key will be to retain the focus that has got them this far. Kerr said his side can’t afford to be overawed by the occasion, as big as it is.

Captain Johnston said for him and most of his team-mates it won’t be their first final, but it’ll be their first big final as a team, and he’s looking forward to it.

“The best thing about this group is that it’s got guys in it that I coached in the (Ashburton) College side, so to be able to play among them instead of being on the sideline yelling at them to do this and that, I can do that on the court with them,” Johnston said.

Johnston came to the side this season after almost 20 years of premier basketball in Christchurch, and he’s loved being able to play for his home association.

Playing for Mid Canterbury meant dropping from premier down to the next grade – division one – but it also meant an end to the years of largely lonely drives to Christchurch for training and games.

“The best thing about playing here is you don’t have to travel to get to trainings, and yeah you still have to travel to games but you’re travelling with a group of guys, so you build team chemistry in the van,” Johnston said.

He knows the final will be tough going, but he’s confident his team is up for it.

“This team we are playing is experienced and they have played a lot of finals before.

“I’ve played them in prems finals quite a few times and they are definitely a good bunch of guys to compete against, even though we hate their guts on court,” Johnston said.

Any off court friendships will be cast aside today, with a title on the line, and if the last encounter between the two sides is anything to go by, the crowd at Cowles Stadium for finals day could be in for a treat.

Today’s division one final will tip off at 12.20pm, and it will be followed by the women’s premier grand final between the Lincoln University and North Canterbury premier women’s teams, and the men’s premier final between the University of Canterbury and the Pioneer Pacers.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 14 September 2019