GOLDFIELDS Giants import Michael Haney will be handed the tough assignment of shutting down Kalamunda’s leading scorer Adrian Mastrovich in tonight’s State Basketball League quarter-final.

Former NBL player Mastrovich looms as the key in game one of the best of-three series at Ray Owen Recreation Centre, following hauls of 42, 42, 28, 43 and 39 points in his past five games.

Goldfields coach Stephen Charlton said Haney had the better of Mastrovich in their previous encounter in June, restricting the forward to 23 points as the Giants won 95-84.

The focus on Mastrovich will be heightened, however, after Kalamunda lost import Joseph Nixon through injury. “We know he’s a talented player, he’s spent a number of years in the NBL, Europe and New Zealand,” Charlton said.

“He is a well rounded and credentialed player and he’s a player who’s in some pretty handy form.” “He’s a good size and he’s a tough match-up across the court, he was nine of 13 from beyond the three-point line in his last game.”

“Haney had him for most of the game last time and we’ll throw Mike at him early.” “I think where we’ll get the edge is our depth because other teams do not have the same depth.”

“We’ve got Mike (Haney) and Mark (Heron) who we can keep rotating on and off him to make sure he works hard the whole 48 minutes.” “Our strength is our versatility, to  keep rotating and hopefully wear him down that way.”

Charlton is embarking on a fourth straight play-offs campaign since taking charge in 2006 and said his side’s experience in big games would be an advantage over Kalamunda, who areappearing in their first-ever finals series. “Our core group has been through a number of play-offs series together, so playing in a quarter-final is not going to rattle us,” Charlton said.

“This is Kalamunda’s first play-offs series in their second season.” “The fact they’re going in down an import means no-one expects them to win and they effectively have nothing to lose.

“It won’t faze us, but they have nothing to lose so that probably balances out the advantage we have with experience.”

The Giants move into the play-offs full of confidence after finishing the regular season in second position with a 21-5 win-loss record.

Goldfields’ 104-89 victory over Willetton last Saturday represented their sixth win in a row.

A huge plus for the Giants is captain Shamus Ballantyne who has struck form at the perfect time, averaging 17.7 points and 9.2 assists in the past eight games.

“We’ve had a tough run into the playoffs and we believe we’ve set ourselves up as best we can,” Charlton said.

The Giants return home for games two and three, if required, on August 1-2.

If they progress, the Giants will face the winner of Wanneroo and Perry Lakes in the semi-finals. Under Charlton, the Giants boast an imposing record in the play-offs, having won 14 of 16 games, including an unbeaten run of 10 consecutive games dating back to the 2007 quarter-finals against Rockingham.

Article by Jarrod Lucas (Kalgoorlie Miner)
Photo by Travis Anderson - Andmedia/Sports Vision ©2009