By JARROD POTTER
WITH their season on the line, Keysborough came up trumps against the higher-ranked Pakenham – snaring an 88-71 win to book their spot in the finals.
Keysborough came out with a bang – Adam Sliwinski knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the first five minutes and finished with a match high 23 points.
Sliwinski was ably assisted from downtown by the Cougars’ consistent point-man, Alistair Granger also knocked down three long-range shots in his stats of 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Pakenham never went away, reducing the margin to 63-68 in the final term, leaving Keysborough to keep their best on court to try and break the Warriors’ endeavour.
Finally, the rubber band snapped – Keysborough shot away via a three-point play from centre Kevin Benn – who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds from the low post.
Keysborough coach Nathan Vogt said the match summed up their season to date – a tough run and a struggle to get across the line, but their rebounding helped claim the points.
“We knew that if we could get on top of them in the rebound count, it would go a long way to winning the game and we did that,” Vogt said.
“We knew they were never going to go away, but we stuck to our guns and did what we do best.
“We’ve had a tough run all year, and it’s probably put us in good stead for the rest of the season.
John Constance is the only concern for the Cougars ahead of this week’s first match against runaway leaders Melton – after the guard twisted his knee awkwardly and was helped off the court – but the Cougars are hopeful he’ll get up for this week.
“He said it is feeling a lot better, and it doesn’t hurt as badly as last time, so we’re hoping he’ll be right,” Vogt said.
Quickly flicking onto their phones to find out the result of Casey versus Western Port, the Cougars ecstatically found out the Cavaliers won – granting them the last spot in the final four.
“We unfortunately had to depend on another result, which is never good, but it is what it is and we’ll take it and live to fight another day,” Vogt said.
All thoughts shift to Melton – with Keysborough facing the ladder leading juggernaut that claimed 14 straight wins – but Vogt knows his side can beat the Thoroughbreds.
“We beat Melton in our opening game of the season – we know if we can stick to our guns we can beat them,” Vogt said.
“They’re the form side of the competition, but we know if we want to be champions we have to knock off the best.”
The Cougars host the Thoroughbreds on Sunday afternoon at Springers Leisure Centre – with tip off at 1pm.
