Wanneroo Wolves assistant coach Ryan Benson says the team team isn't letting the club's long men's State Basketball League title drought act as a burden.

The Wolves haven't even made it to the Grand Final since they won their only championship in 1993, but can change that with victory against Cockburn in the semi-finals.

Even though expectations are high for the second seed after they made it to the final four with a two-one series win against Willetton, Benson said the long time since their last championship wasn't going to add to the pressure.

"It's a long time since 1993. It's been mentioned a little bit here and there. But we need to make our own history," he told Sports Beat on SportFM 91.3.

"It (being in the semi-finals) is a first for a lot of people at the club and it's a great reward for them. They all deserve it because they've all worked hard over a long period.

"Wanneroo has done really well in the junior competitions but it's just in the SBL that we haven't really been able to get it done over the years.

"We think we've got the team and we're ready to have a good crack at it this year and bring it home for the first time in 18 years."

Benson was in charge of the Wolves for the final two games of the quarter-final victory against the Tigers as head coach Ben Ettridge was away with the Australian men's wheelchair basketball series.

Ettridge will also miss game one of the series against the Cougars and Benson said he was looking forward to the opportunity of leading Wanneroo into a high-pressure environment.

"With their home crowd behind them, it's going to be a tough job for us to get the win," Benson said.

"Stephen Charlton has got them playing a really good brand of basketball. They never give in, they're always contesting every possession. But we're confident we get the win and hopefully go back to Wanneroo next week and wrap it up."

One of Benson's biggest challenges will be finding a way to stop Cougars star Ty Harrelson, who scored 50 points as his side wrapped up its quarter-finals series against Perth.

"Ty is a great player. He is their playmaker, everything runs through his hands. It's going to be tough, but we've got some guys who will hopefully be able to shut him down," Benson said.

"We'll weigh things up and see if we can try to stop him or maybe let him get his points and stop the other four guys on the court.

"We've got Seb Salinas and obviously Brad Robbins, who are really good defenders who we hope will be able to stop him."

Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Wayne Wright (Wayne Wright Photography)

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