Creek backing Giants for stellar effort to launch NBL1 finals against visiting Magic

Goldfields Giants coach Wayne Creek was emphatic in backing his squad against the competition’s best teams, but said it counted for nothing unless they could get past Mandurah on Saturday night to open the men’s NBL1 play-offs.

The Giants host a sudden-death eliminator at Niels Hansen Stadium after finishing sixth — one victory and a ladder spot ahead of Mandurah.

Creek’s group holds a 2-0 advantage this year against the Magic, with 87-71 and 93-88 scorelines.

“If we’re not consistent for the entire game, then maybe we don’t deserve to be there (in championship contention),” Creek said.

“But as I’ve preached to the entire group, when we play at our best, there’s not a team in the league we can’t beat.

“If we perform at our absolute best, we won’t lose (because) we have the strongest and most potent team in the league, in my opinion.”

Creek declared a full-strength team available and hoped the stadium could be the same intimidating fortress it was in the club’s glory years.

“If you look back to 2017, we won eight games and just five in 2018,” he said.

“But in 2019, we jumped up to 14 wins and it was definitely a lot tougher to come to Kalgoorlie.

“This year, we’ve had two losses at home and teams know they are up against it when they come to Kalgoorlie.

“It used to be an absolute fortress, going back to the 2000s when we won championships and they (opposition teams) knew they were coming to Kalgoorlie to lose.

“We’ve got more of that mentality now and we do have some of the best and most vocal supporters in the league.

“That’s a good thing because we know they’re on our side.”

If the pre-game hype was genuine, Mandurah were already in a negative mindset.

“A few of the guys know some of the Mandurah players who said they weren’t looking forward to the eight-hour bus trip here,” Creek said.

“That could be lip service, but if they’re saying that, it must be in the back of their minds.

“Any time you’re potentially going up against a team that doesn’t want to play you, then all the better.”

Creek said the squad was ready for whatever was thrown at them.

“As far as I know, they’re bringing their full team,” he said.

“We beat them a month ago, when we didn’t have Jesse (Ghee) and they had a full team.

“Two months ago, we also beat them, but they didn’t have Jay Bowie available.

“But I’m confident we can beat them anyway — we match up well against them, as long as we play to our best and are consistent.”

Giants management will be on the lookout for a new coach at season’s end after Creek this month told them he would be stepping down.

The squad was fourth at the time, but have lost their past three games.

Creek initially coached the Giants in 2010-11 and was a member of the inaugural 2007 championship squad.