Hawks coach Zico Coronel says his troops always believed they could beat the Southland Sharks in the opening round in Napier last week.
Coronel says both teams had quality on paper after the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, although the Taylor Corp Hawks were in a better position to exploit the Sharks’ weaknesses rather than vice versa.
“I guess it was a battle of strength, skills and their size … they caused us some issues on the board at times [but] we were able to hold up well enough to cause them some issues on offensive rebounds as well.”
He says Tim McTamney, Coronel’s mentor and good friend from the time he started coaching, is doing a great job with an “extremely young” Go Media Jets.
“They are playing multiple people who are still at high school,” he says of the Jets, who lost 95-69 to the Taranaki Mountainairs in their opening round last week.
Coronel says the Jets generated some good ball during the Blitz but sharper shooting would have helped their cause.
“They play with confidence. They are young players who have nothing to lose so it’s all about improving their skills and trying to expand themselves.”
Aggressiveness and confidence, he feels, makes them dangerous. Their imports arrived late but should be better polished for the round two 7pm match at the Ballroom Arena, Palmerston North, today.
Hawks Aussie import Oscar Forman, who retired from the ANBL, caught Coronel’s eye in a 3 x 3 tourney across the ditch so when the franchise contacted him he was keen to play here.
“I’m sure there are a lot of Hawks coaches — the likes of Shawn [Dennis], Paulie [Henare] or Tab [Baldwin] — [who] would have loved to have known that Oscar wanted to play for Hawke’s Bay then, but he’s here now.”
Coronel says Forman is a good talker and a premier shooter in Australasia who will find his groove after a few more games. He played 28 minutes in the first game.
The 36-year-old power forward from Adelaide, he says, was instrumental in drawing attention from the Sharks after two shots at the basket, which, in turn, freed up shooting guard Everard Bartlett to find the rim.
“With Oscar, I guess, we’re looking through his long-term situation,” he says.
Coronel says the double header on the road from today will be an opportune time for his players to strengthen their bonds to find resilience, considering they had excellent support from the fans at the Pettigrew-Green Arena in Napier last Thursday.
He says if the Hawks keep giving the PG Arena faithful reasons to return they can grow the fan base to the halcyon days.
“That’s how it used to be when all the corners [of the arena] were filled. We’re not quite there yet but it’s certainly on its way.”