Tragardh knows what Meteors need to win title
METEORS coach Cameron Tragardh knows what it takes to lead a team to a Queensland Basketball League Championship.
He was in this exact same position last year, gearing up to play against Brisbane Capitals as star for the Cairns Marlins.
This time round he’s in Mackay colours and knows what the Meteors need to do in order to win their best of three series against Townsville Heat.
“We don’t need anyone to have a superhuman performance; we just need contributions from the whole team,” Tragardh said.
Mackay and Townsville head into the grand final series with a 1- 1 record against each other this season, with the Heat defeating Mackay 96- 81 in their most recent meeting.
This time they will be walking into The Crater, a venue that has yielded just one defeat from 10 games this season, and not only that, the Meteors romped into the grand final series last weekend with a 106- 90 win over Rockhampton.
“It took a pretty spectacular effort to beat us at home,” Tragardh said.
“Brisbane ( Capitals) had to make 22 three- pointers hang on and win.”
Pushing the Heat out of the key is exactly what the Meteors plan to do, particularly to sharp shooting Townsville point guard Joshua Wilcher.
“Everything he gets needs to come from the perimeter and over the top, not around,” Tragardh said.
“He will see multiple defenders over the next couple of to days.” Mackay and Brisbane Bullets point guard Shaun Bruce’s battle with Wilcher shapes as a crucial match- up in the championship series but Tragardh said the Meteors had plenty of weapons across the floor.
“If you do something special like double team Shaun, you’re almost playing into his hands because he is such an outstanding passer,” he said.