EAST Perth Eagles coach Adam Forde is confident that the heartbreak of playoff defeats the last two years will drive his group to an SBL championship victory against the Geraldton Buccaneers this Saturday night.

The Vorian Agency East Perth Eagles have now made a stirring run into the 2014 men's SBL grand final following a three-game quarter-final victory over the second-placed Orange Autos Rockingham Flames, and then a two-game semi-final series win over the Perth Redbacks.

That has come after the Eagles finished the regular season for 2014 only in seventh position, but their best right throughout the year when they were at full strength was certainly enough to suggest they could be championship contenders.

The talent is there as well with NBL championship winners Tom Jervis and Drew Williamson, and others with a taste at the top level including Kyle Armour, Mathiang Muo and Sunday Dech as well as Austin Kisselev, Joe-Alan Tupaea and Nikola Donlagic.

However, what coach Forde believes is the biggest factor driving on the Eagles beyond the talent they have on the floor is the sheer heartbreak from the playoff losses the last two years.

It started in 2012 when the Eagles made the grand final to take on the Cockburn Cougars, but they came up short losing by 33 points.

Again last year, East Perth had a team capable of contending for the championship until coming up against the eventual champion Lakeside Lightning in a semi-final series.

Forde is proud of the way his group has pulled together to reach the grand final of 2014 and is fully confident they have one more win in them come Saturday night against the Buccaneers at the WA Basketball Centre.

"Heartbreak right now is what drives us," Forde said.

"We were pumped by Cockburn in the 2012 grand final, then absolutely executed by Lakeside in the semis last year. We don’t have a big budget that breaks the bank, and we don’t have the luxury of flying out any studs from the USA.

"But we don’t need to, three years of heartbreak does amazing things in bringing a winning group together. We play for the singlet, not the pay check, and I'm very lucky that this group allows me to coach them."

Not only was Jervis a massive factor in the Eagles winning through to the grand final with his Game 2 semi-final triple-double against the Redbacks, Forde liked the way his whole team played against a dangerous and talented Perth outfit.

"Tommy was a beast with 11 blocks and he smacked the air out of the ball on at least half of them. One of them almost killed Mathiang," Forde said.

"Everyone played their role to perfection. The scorers made the big baskets, the play makers made the plays, and the game closers finished out the game.

"We moved the ball and got it through hands almost every trip down. We stuck to the game plan. The 26 offensive rebounds, and 12 turnovers in the first half were concerning, but it could have been worse, we could have lost."

The Eagles were spurred on also pre-match by a speech given by 28-year-old 250-game plus veteran John Taylor.

"John (Taylor) before the game gave the most inspiration speech to the team I have ever witnessed. I wish I recorded it," Forde said.

"He spoke from the heart and had every single person in that change room hanging onto each word. He is a very proud man, and this is a very proud and supportive group, they love each other and they are hungry for success."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin