Roth: "We're here to win"

The Tasmania JackJumpers are not here to make up the numbers.

That’s the message from coach Scott Roth as the club prepares for the Semi-Final series against defending champion Melbourne United.

Tasmania is the first expansion team to make the finals in their inaugural season since the Gold Coast Blaze in 2008, and their postseason tickets weren’t punched until the season’s final game.

Despite overcoming a range of hurdles to even qualify for the finals – including bouncing back from a 2-6 start and relying on the Perth Wildcats to fall over – the JackJumpers enter Thursday night’s game one full of confidence.

“These guys expect to win, we're here to win a championship, not just make up numbers and go through the process,” Roth said.

“I think that's one of the reasons why we've been relatively successful this year, we've never put a ceiling on anything. We just keep doing the work and seeing where it leads.

“We didn't come in thinking 10th place is gonna be good, it's just an expansion here and we'll be happy if we get 9th. If we would have taken that mode, we probably would have finished 9th of 10th.

“We continue to just keep grinding away and doing the work and it's been fantastic.”

When asked what his message to the playing group has been, Roth acknowledged what the club has achieved so far but emphasised the job is not done.

“Congratulations, it's been quite the X amount of months here and just proud of the way they built the culture here and represented the state,” the coach said.

“Again, expect to win. We have been saying that for the last two or three weeks that we’re good enough to beat anybody at any time. When you go to Melbourne, expect to win, and don't think anything else other than that.

“I told them, you're good enough to win a championship this year.”

Tasmania has had Melbourne’s number this season, defeating United in two of their three regular season games.

That includes a February win at John Cain Arena, the same venue which will stage game one of the series on Thursday night.

“We should have confidence, regardless. We've gone into Melbourne in that building and done well,” Roth said.

“I expect these guys to play very hard, but they have a battle. (Melbourne) is a championship pedigree team that knows how to win, and the pressure is going to mount, the crowd is going to be there.

“We're going to have to navigate some tough times during course of the game and we'll see what happens at that point.”

Game one of the JackJumpers v United Semi-Final series tips off on Thursday night at 7:30pm AEST on ESPN and Kayo Freebies.

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