Feature image via: Viesther Rex Berga
After making the inaugural National Finals in 2022, the top-of-the-ladder Canberra Gunners want to prove the strength of the East in this year’s tournament on the Sunshine Coast.
The Gunners were impressive in the first National Finals, despite being the conference’s first season - beating both the Hobart Chargers and the Gold Coast Rollers by a significant margin, and taking the Frankston Blues to the limit in an 86-89 loss.
As a born and bred Canberra product, he has always prioritised loyalty to his club and coach Pete Herak, over things like a bigger contract or playing for a contender.
Related: What makes the Gunners special?
With a core group of teammates that grew up together, the Gunners pulled off a miraculous win in the 2022 Grand Final over the Maitland Mustangs. A conference championship that gave each team an automatic entry to the National Finals.
Morison explained to NBL Media that representing his home state on such a stage is something he never expected to do in his playing career.
“I played with (teammate) Will Mayfield since we were 10 years old,” he said.
“Going to a National Finals, yeah, it's second division basketball, but still, it’s surreal at times.”
Despite enjoying the experience, Morison is still frustrated about narrowly missing the inaugural Championship Game – but is using it as a motivator for this finals run.
“I'm still spewing that we lost to Frankston. We were up like 10 points at halftime. It still eats at me,” he said.
If Canberra can secure the NBL1 East championship in this week’s coming conference finals, Morison says that their job isn’t to just participate – it’s to win.
“At the end of the day, any tournament you go into, the goal is to go as far as you can,” he said.
“We're going to go in trying to win. If we don't win, it's not going to be the end of the world because it's National Finals – it's the best state league players in and around the country.
“When, if, we make the National Finals, we're going in trying to win, it's that simple. We'll do everything we can but can't write it before it's happened.”
The Gunners will host the Centre of Excellence in the first round of the NBL1 East conference finals. Stay tuned for the full fixtures later in the week via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.
You can get your tickets to the 2024 Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 National Finals for the 16-18th of August via Intix here.
For further information on the official destination of the National Finals, head to www.visitsunshinecoast.com
