With 20 points from Staci Richardson, and three of his teammates scoring double digits, the Pirates claimed an eight-point 67-59 win on Saturday night against Bacchus Marsh, before falling agonisingly close to the Bendigo Braves the following day.
Liam Tenace led the way for scoring, putting up 17 points, but foul trouble for Staci Richardson put the game just beyond reach, with the Braves claiming a five-point win 73-78.
Coach Leo Tenace said the weekend produced two different performances.
“It's funny how sport works out some times,” he said.
“We probably didn't play our best on Saturday night, but we were able to grind it out and get the win and that's going to be important going forward.
“We had a good spread of points. We didn't really rely on anyone in the game, but when things weren't going our way we knuckled down and found a way to force the win.
“With the shortened season we are going to need to be able to do that regularly, if we don't produce our best basketball we will still need to get the results.
“The way we played on Saturday showed we are capable of doing that.”
But Tenace said his side was much improved on Sunday despite the loss.
“I think that was where we played our better game,” he said.
“We had Staci foul out pretty early in the third, and we had Riley Clarke get a bit injured in the last and that's always going to make it tough to get the win.
“But I think we played really well. Bendigo look like they're going to be a top two side again this year so we will take a lot of confidence out of how we played.”
Fourteen points from Meg Eishold led the way for the Pirates’ women's side on Sunday afternoon, but a typically strong Bendigo side was too much for them to overcome, falling 46-80.
Coach Lisa Baker said it was a tough return to the court.
“There was probably a bit of a lack of match fitness and preparation,” she said.
“That's to be understood. It's been 12 months off the court and a very short pre-season to get ready.
“But there were a few lessons to be learned from it, we now know what we can do better and what we will need to improve on this week before our next game.”
Both the men's and women's sides will head to Kyneton on Saturday night for their next games.
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