Title hunt has great ring to it
MELBOURNE United star Chris Goulding half-jokes that he should already have an NBL championship ring to his name.
But there will be no need for any cheeky asterisks on his resume if he helps guide United to victory over the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL grand final series that starts tomorrow night.
Goulding was a development player with the Brisbane Bullets in 2006-07 when the club claimed the NBL title in emphatic fashion.
Goulding played one game for the Bullets that season as an enthusiastic rookie when he trained every day alongside the likes of Sam Mackinnon, CJ Bruton and Mark Bradtke.
Fast forward 11 years and the Boomers guard is one of the faces of the NBL and a prime mover behind Melbourne’s journey to the best-of-five decider against the 36ers.
“As I get a little older, I like to claim it,’’ Goulding laughs about the 2007 championship.
“It (winning a title) is something that I think about a lot now that I’m actually in a position to be able to do so.
“To be on a team where we genuinely have a chance to win it all, it’s a good feeling (but) it’s a little nerve-racking just because we are sitting around, waiting.
“It will be over a week in between semi-final two and game one of a grand final … we want to play straight away and get into this series.’’
Goulding said United coach Dean Vickerman transformed the culture at the star-studded Melbourne to the point that they prided themselves on defence.
“There is never a sense of panic. If we get down, we understand there’s a lot of time on the clock,” he said.