1 week Ago By Agron Latifi
Justin Tatum couldn't help but smile when talk turned to a first showdown with a Melbourne United side which knocked his Illawarra Hawks out of the semifinals last season. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading The Hawks head coach's reaction came hot on the heels of watching his team down a gallant Cairns Taipans 87-75 at Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday night.
Tatum tried to downplay the clash against United in Wollongong this Thursday night but admitted the Hawks were looking forward to having another crack at last season's beaten grand finalists. "For sure we are [looking forward to the game] but we're just going to treat them like another team. "Hopefully we can get on a playoff run but Melbourne is just another team on our schedule.
We just want to make sure we prepare well and have a good game and pull out a win at the WEC," he said. Tatum though was more than happy to talk up the performance of Wani Swaka Lo Buluk in the Hawks gritty win over the Taipans . He was particularly impressed with Lo Buluk's work at the defensive end.
"This guy next to me, [ Wani Swaka Lo Buluk] I'm definitely saying needs to be in contention for defensive player of the year in the league," Tatum said. "He comes in, he sets the tone, he did another great job on one of their best players and he has been doing it during the course of the season so far. "When guys like this step it up and take the challenge it helps our team and ignites our team to pull out wins like this.
" Lo Buluk credited a spray by his coach for igniting his good early form which has him as an early front-runner to win the defensive player of the year award. "No one knows this but in the pre-season JT called me out in front of everybody and it kind of lit a fire in me and my mindset changed," he said. "Just him calling me out now makes me set the tone for everyone on the team.
"I got to give a shout out to the coaches with their scouts, I just go out there and try to set the tone. "I got to do whatever I can to help the team win, whether that is running the lanes, or getting stops, I just got to do what's needed to get us wins. "As I said JT lit a fire in me and it definitely changed my mindset, so I got to give a shout out to him as well.
" The league-leading Hawks were made to work hard for their fifth win from six outings, with the Snakes scoring 11 straight points early and leading for most of the first half before Tyler Harvey capped off a 7-0 run to close the half with a three on the buzzer to put the Hawks up 40-38 at the break. Harvey top-scored for the Hawks with 20 points and also had four rebounds and three assists. Fellow guard Trey Kell III only shot 4/15, but still had 14 points and seven assists with his team plus-22 with him out there.
Will 'Davo' Hickey gave a spark once more with nine points, five assists and four rebounds while defensive menace Lo Buluk did well holding Rob Edwards to 17 points on 5/16 shooting. But with the Hawks leading by just one point heading into the final quarter it was their front court pair of Sam Froling (10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks) and Lachlan Olbrich (10 points, five boards) who led them to the win. Their contribution was especially telling considering Darius Days fouled out after just 13 minutes for two points and six rebounds.
Tatum was proud of the toughness his group showed to win a grind of a game. "It came down to our toughness and we knew we were going to come here and get battle tested, and I was very impressed with how I was able to play both of my bigs down the stretch," he said. "Defensively nothing dropped and we were able to get some consistent rebounds, and Trey and Tyler did their thing, and Davo and Swak were incredible on Edwards and Bradshaw.
"Just being able to extend the lead a little bit over the last three to five minutes was big for us." The Hawks next play Melbourne United at WIN Entertainment Centre on Thursday night. Wollongong born and bred.
I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury.
It's been a great pleasure. More from Basketball Newsletters & Alerts DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update.
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