By Aaron Young
I’m really happy with the performance from our side in our first home game of the season on Friday night.
Our defensive effort and execution was right on point and we were able to implement our plan of holding teams to a low number.
I am very proud of the defensive effort in that game and if we can produce something close to that each week, we will be in good shape.
We probably didn’t score as many points and we are capable of but if we can execute like we did defensively, the scoring should take care of itself.
Chris McIntosh was very good in a start; showing plenty of hussle and energy at both ends of the floor.
I thought our bench was really good as well – Nick Barrow had a great game and was really efficient with his shot, while Tom Beattie had some timely baskets as well.
We were without Reuben Te Rangi obviously but that allowed everyone to play their role and step up to help cover his absence.
The key when playing with a less experienced side is to minimise errors and I thought our guys did a really good job with that.
It was also great to see Will Leger and Conor Flanagan make their Sal’s NBL debuts as well.
We have a big couple of weeks ahead of us – starting with a tough road trip this coming week, where we play the Sharks in Invercargill and the Saints in Wellington.
We are already focused on that and hopefully we can continue our strong start to the season.