After three losses to start the season, the Tamworth Thunderbolts have tinkered and experimented with different combinations on court, and a drought-breaking win last night has coach Mitch Balderston feeling as though they are headed in the right direction.
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In their fourth game of 2022, the Thunderbolts snapped their skid on Saturday night with a statement victory over the Central Coast Waves.
It was the second Youth League Men's game to be played in front of a packed-out crowd at the Tamworth Sports Dome this season, who were treated to a clinic as Tamworth claimed a comfortable 98-71 win over the "slightly less skilled" Waves.
"We were really, really pleased last night," Balderston said.
"It was good to finally get a win in the books and finally get off the bottom of the ladder."
After a nailbiting loss to the Sydney Comets in round one, the Thunderbolts travelled to Sydney and suffered a narrow defeat against the Hornsby Ku Ring Gai Spiders on Saturday, April 2 - a match which they led by 17 points after the first quarter.
This was followed by a loss to the Maitland Mustangs the next day. Both games, Balderston said, provided lessons about the challenges of playing after long stints on the road.
"We've been doing a lot more work on fitness and discussing how we can get out of the cars better after the five-hour drive to Sydney," he said.
"The guys haven't played a lot of rep basketball for three or four years. In their junior programs, we're used to traveling ... but it definitely became more of a factor than we wanted it to be, particularly on the Sunday after sleeping in a hotel and driving the previous day."
Among the other lessons learned in the early rounds was the need to change up the attacking structure of the side, which paid dividends on Saturday night.
Bailey Keech, who sunk six three-pointers against Maitland, has been given more of the ball, along with Chris Pearson as one of the team's taller players.
Pearson (20) and Keech (17) led the scoring against the Central Coast, which vindicated Balderston's faith in their shooting ability.
The coming Easter weekend will be a welcome respite for the players to recuperate and freshen up ahead of a heavy schedule in coming weeks.
To that end, Balderston has called off training this week and hopes to see the team return refreshed after Easter.
"It just lets the boys do their own thing," he said.
"They've all got shooting programs, so they'll go and do some shooting and a bit of fitness, but it gets them off the court a little bit.
"Every second day for the last three months we've been training, so it gives them a chance to let the body recover a bit and switch off for a few days."
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