Gallant run comes to abrupt end

GEELONG Supercats coach Leon O’Neill says he is proud of what his team achieved this year after their season came to an end on Saturday night.

The Supercats bowed out of the NBL1 finals series, going down to the Nunawading Spectres on the road 76-82.

After a stirring win at home last week, they started promisingly and were leading in the third quarter but were overpowered in the second half.

O’Neill conceded his team was beaten by a better squad on the night.

“Nunawading are a well credentialed team,” he said.

“We knew we’d have to be pretty close to perfect to beat them. For 3½ quarters, we were pretty close.

“Late in the fourth we just couldn’t find a way to get the ball in the hole and dried up down the stretch.

“I’m happy with the way we played. I don’t think we could have done much more. They were just too good for us.

“Basketball Geelong is an outstanding institution, it has been for a long time.

“Success is measured in banners and championships, but there are degrees of success.

“Coming from where we were last October, losing a lot of key people, to turn that around and produce what we have with an entirely new group, you have to be proud and encouraged for what the future looks like.”

It was a tight contest, with the Supercats leading for most of the first half and up by nine points at half-time.

The Spectres outscored Geelong 24-12 to take control of the game, and poor shooting by Geelong in the fourth quarter sealed the Supercats’ fate.

Lewis Thomas and Ma’alo Hicks led the scoring for Geelong, both finishing with 16 points and five and nine rebounds.

DeMarcus Gatlin was solid on both ends, adding 14 points and pulling in 11 rebounds.

Despite a productive first half, Geelong struggled to score late in the important fourth quarter, finishing the game with a shooting percentage of only 36 per cent.