THE Cockburn Cougars might have two outstanding imports and some inspirational veterans heading into Saturday night's Grand Final, but Julian Pesava is a young gun who has been given the chance to shine in 2016 and has delivered.

The Lapa Brazilian BBQ Restaurant Cockburn Cougars have qualified for Saturday night's Men's SBL Grand Final against the Merriwa Tavern & Bistro Joondalup City Wolves with a team of tremendous depth.

The Cougars team includes outstanding imports Marcus Goode and Najee Lane along with veterans Sheldon McIntyre, Rhett Della and Dan Thomas but there's plenty more to the Cockburn team than those five and that's why they have made the Grand Final even without injured captain Gavin Field.

Field putting own pain aside to pull for Cougars' championship 
Elusive championship the goal as DT enjoys return to Cockburn 
Cougars life member McIntyre in sight of fairytale finish 
Men's SBL Player Column – Rhett Della 

Pesava is one young player who has flourished under coach Matt Parsons the past two years and he took his first opportunities in 2015 by appearing in 27 games averaging 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds a game.

He has now taken his game to another level in 2016 with the increased faith Parsons has put in him by averaging 11.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting an impressive 40.7 per cent from three-point range.

Pesava showed that he's not afraid of the big occasion by delivering his career-high 31 points along with eight rebounds in Game 3 of the quarter finals against the Perry Lakes Hawks when he nailed four of his five three-point attempts.

Having claimed the minor premiership, the pressure was on for the Cougars to not bow out in the quarter finals for the second straight year and Pesava was proud to stand up particularly in the absence of Field after Game 1.

"It was a do or die game and I hadn’t had the best last few games so it was really good to come out and start shooting well, and getting in rhythm," Pesava said.

"Hopefully I can play another game like that now."

Pesava has only recently turned 21 years of age as he prepares to play in his first SBL Grand Final this Saturday against the experienced Wolfpack where he will go up against multiple championship winners like Trian Iliadis and Seb Salinas.

Winning Saturday night's Grand Final would be the dream finish to the season for Pesava and it's not just the opportunities provided by Parsons this year that has benefited him, but also playing with the likes of Thomas, Della, McIntyre, Field and Lane.

"I have really enjoyed this year and last year, and I'm very thankful to coach Parsons for giving me the opportunity to play and having the faith in my abilities to play. I'm very grateful for that," he said.

"I have learned a lot off DT, Rhett, Sheldon, Gavin and even Najee as well. This is a very experienced team and I'm really enjoying learning off all our veterans."

Following Saturday night's Grand Final, Pesava will be heading straight off to begin his US college career with Wayland Baptist University where SBL legend Ty Harrelson will be his coach.

Pesava can't wait for that and hopes to be able to depart with a championship.

"I'm very excited about that to start training full-time and getting into a groove where I'm training every day," Pesava said.

"I still think I can get a lot better defensively and my shooting can get more consistent. I can also be a bit more confident with the ball because sometimes I turn the ball over with some bad passes or with my decision-making. I think Ty being a point guard himself will really help with my ball handling.

"I'm really excited but it's a lot of work to organise everything now so I'm ready to go. I leave on September 4 and I can't wait. Obviously I'm hoping to win a championship with this team before I leave too."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin