Shepparton 93 d
Bulleen 70
Sunday
Shepparton 83 d
Coburg 70
Shepparton left nothing to chance as the Big V division one regular season wrapped up at the weekend.
The Gators won their two fixtures - against the Bulleen Boomers and Coburg Giants, respectively - to finish in second spot on the ladder and earn themselves a weekend off.
Shepparton coach Leigh Bathman was happy with the efforts of his troops across the double-header.
"I was really pleased with the weekend, particularly the early form against Bulleen - we put them away pretty quickly," Bathman said.
"(On Sunday) we battled pretty hard, but were able to knuckle down late and get the job done.
"It was two important wins that we needed, and finishing with 19 wins and equal top is a great season, we wanted to finish anywhere in the top three."
Saturday night's 23-point win against the Boomers was led by Atem Atem and Javaan Mumtaz, with the duo combining to drain six from 10 shots from outside the arc on their way to 23 points apiece.
Atem also finished with 15 rebounds, while Mumtaz had eight.
Carlin Dupree (17 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists) came close to a triple-double, with Nick Dodd (11, seven and three) also impressing.
On Sunday it was again Atem (22 points and 11 rebounds), Mumtaz (18 and four) and Dupree (24, eight and six assists) who caught the eye in a 13-point win against the Giants.
"Atem and Javaan were really good on Saturday night," Bathman said.
"We were pretty emphatic, got everyone on the court and had no passengers.
"The usual suspects all stood up when we needed them to on Sunday, it was a pretty even contribution."
The Gators will rest up before facing the winner of an elimination final in a best-of-three semi-final series.
"I'm really, really pleased, we'll just keep fine-tuning," Bathman said.
"The week off and then being on the road game one of the semi-final series will present its own challenges. We'll be at home in games two and three, so we won't be at home for a few weeks now.
"It will be an interesting sort of test for us, but the week off will give Gabe Evans time to get over his injury.
"We'll try and keep it rolling, but it's a new season now and you need the play the best basketball that you can play."
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