THE Goldfields Giants made a fairytale run into the SBL semi finals last year and it has been the total opposite so far in the second half of 2016 but coach Michael Haney is remaining positive and isn’t giving up the hopes of making the playoffs.

The Giants went on a stunning run to end 2015 winning nine of their last 10 matches to finish in seventh spot and then upset the Geraldton Buccaneers in the quarter finals before coming up short in the semis against the South West Slammers.

That was a remarkable run for the Giants so confidence was high coming into 2016 despite the loss of Mathiang Muo, Jay Bowie, Brandon Hewitt-Holloway and Shamus Ballantyne.

Jacob Holmen returned and was joined by fellow import Kenny Manigault with the pair making strong contributions but not being able to find that third option like Muo provided last year has proven difficult to cover.

The Giants have now lost 10 straight matches but with a run to finish the season at home to the Lakeside Lightning, Rockingham Flames, Geraldton Buccaneers and South West Slammers, and away to the Cockburn Cougars and Perth Redbacks, they are still in the playoff mix.

With the Perry Lakes Hawks having now lost four straight at 8-12 in eighth spot and the East Perth Eagles only at 8-12 in ninth, the Giants aren’t out of the running at 6-14 if they can get on a winning run.

But getting that elusive first win to end the streak must happen this Saturday night in Kambalda against the Lightning if they are to be any hope.

"It's still mathematically there for us by a long shot. We are just two games out with six to go so it's good that we still have something to play for. It can be hard on those cold nights to train in Kalgoorlie so you need to have some motivation. It's still there for us which is good," Haney said.

"We've got Lakeside and Rockingham to come, and then we finish off with the Slammers and Buccs at home. It's there for us if we can get those wins and we just have to stay positive, and keep on having fun and remember that it is just a game after all."

Last year's run for the Giants was on the back of imports Holmen and Bowie along with Muo as a three-pronged attack.

Haney has worked hard all season to try and find that third option this year to go with Holmen and Manigault with the hopes of sparking a similar run.

That has included trying to snap up the likes of Buccs pair Matthew Adekponya and Jackson Hussey but it just hasn’t happened for whatever reason.

And when the Giants come up against teams like last week with the Wolves possessing two imports plus Trian Iliadis, Rob Huntington and Damian Matacz, and the Tigers with imports plus Damien Scott, Kyle Armour and Nic Cody, and they just have struggled to compete with the best teams.

"It's just that third guy we couldn’t get like Mathiang Muo. We have been trying all year and up until the last couple of weeks to find someone coming back from America and college," he said.

"It just hasn’t worked out and it's been frustrating because we have tried our butt off to recruit that third player to maybe score us 15 points and take away 10 from the opposition.

"You look at Geraldton and we were after both Adekponya and Hussey hard, but for whatever reason they chose the Buccs over us. It's been one of those years where it hasn’t gone our way, but last year it did when Mathiang fell into our lap."

Whether or not the Giants end up making the playoffs in 2016, there are definite signs for the future even though frustrations have boiled over at times from both Holmen and Manigault.

But overall, both have contributed to set the example for a young group and contribute strongly with help from veteran Russell Hurst.

Jerome Reid has taken significant leaps forward this season in production and shows strong toughness including fighting through a dislocated shoulder last Sunday to have a terrific final quarter against Willetton.

While winning in the SBL is a focus obviously for Haney and the Giants, providing futures for young players is important as well and that's why Haney is pleased to see Billy Hicks earn a chance to play college basketball in the United States as a sign the development work is paying off.

"We are building for the future and that's why keeping positive is important. When things aren’t going good, these young kids look up to our imports in particular so it's important they set the right example," Haney said.

"They are really moulding these young guys into the players that they need to be. As a coaching staff, as imports and as Russell and the guys who have been around the block, we just have to keep moulding these guys for the years to come and make sure we set a positive example.

"We've got Billy Hicks who is now going to America and he's the first Kalgoorlie kid that I've ever heard of that's gone over to play college ball. That's what kids in Perth always do so we've been behind on that.

"Jerome has come from Esperance and is showing great things as well, Goodluck has come from Adelaide and he is a dynamic player who can score in bunches so we have some good young talent.

"We've also got Dion Gulley who is only 16 and is getting thrown into the fire so he is only going to learn from this. We are losing but there are positives to it and it's exciting."

Haney is in his second season as coach of the Giants and this time last year he was in the middle of a remarkable run. This year has been significantly more difficult, but he is staying positive and making sure the players continue to enjoy what they are doing.

"It's hard when you're not winning and you are the coach, but they all look at me. I'm the main guy and I have to stay positive. I'm not that yelling, bickering coach and that's probably a good thing," he said.

"I stay very positive and I try to find the aspects that are working and reinforcing that the guys are healthy with two legs playing a game they love. I throw that to them a lot to keep the positive attitude going around and I think it's working because we are still having a laugh."

Haney was also hopeful of hitting the floor himself in 2016 to provide some spot minutes to help his front court. But a delay in getting surgery on a knee he hurt in January meant that won't happen, but it could still in 2017 all going well.

"I would be out there but I tore my meniscus when I was trying to get fit back in January," Haney said.

"I had surgery two weeks ago so I'm probably two months away from being able to play but who knows about the future.

"I would love to be able to play spot minutes with 10 minutes a game kind of like Mark Heron was doing here so I can go out and throw my body around, and use my fouls up. It's a chance for sure next year."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Kez's Creations