Illawarra Hawks coach Jacob Jackomas readily admits getting over the hump and breaking through for only their third win of the NBL season is becoming a big mountain to climb.
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The Hawks have played well in their last three outings but came away empty handed - blowing in Jackomas' own words - real opportunities to beat the Sydney Kings and Melounrne United.
"The good thing is we are playing much better right now. It is just a matter of us getting over that hump and finding ways to win," he said.
"We felt like we blew it against Melbourne and the Sydney Kings. I'm not saying we were the better team but that we had leads and made some bad decisions down the stretch that cost us dearly.
"I think we had a four-point lead against Melbourne but we made some pretty bad decisions in that patch. It's a matter of looking after a two-minute patch here and there to get ourselves a win.
"We haven't been in these situations too often so knowing what to do when we do have the lead is a bit of a learning process for us.
"We probably should have done this in the preseason or the first couple of games but with everything that is happening it's becoming a big mountain for us right now.
"But we discussed it today, the players understand what happened in that period of time.....though that is not the only reason we lost."
The Hawks have little time though to dwell on missed opportunities, with a clash away to last season's grand finalists Tasmania JackJumpers on Thursday night.
Jackomas rates the in-form JackJumpers (8-8) highly and expects them to test his team for all four quarters.
"They are an in-form team that play well in front of their home crowd and I think this will be a massive test for us to see our character when they do bring their pressure," he said.
"They are going to test us in a space that they play four quarters well. Some of the other teams have great quarters and some ordinary quarters and this is going to test us in a different way of putting together four good quarters against them on their home floor.
They are an in-form team that play well in front of their home crowd and I think this will be a massive test for us to see our character when they do bring their pressure.
- Hawks coach Jacob Jackomas
"We have been talking about if we can handle their pressure and how we are going to be in Tasmania."
Illawarra's 2-14 win/loss record would suggest they've struggled to handle the pressure to date but the signs have been good in recent weeks with Jackomas hopeful of causing an upset.
To do so the Hawks will need their big four of Sam Froling, Tyler Harvey, Peyton Siva and Michael Frazier II to step up collectively.
Frazier has been impressive since joining the club, while Froling played well against United but struggled from the free-throw line (5-15), missing his first six attempts.
But Jackomas praised how his captain responded and performed throughout the game.
"If that was the beginning of the year or last year, he probably would have had a bad game but credit to Sam, he played solidly," he said.
"He was able to do other things which is a positive sign for the ball club.
"It doesn't help the game and he knows that and he's upset about that but there was some massive strides with him not losing his mind and still delivering on other ends of the floor.
"The other thing with it he was able to get to the foul line, which is a positive, now he just needs to convert."
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Agron Latifi
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.
