The Gators fight to remain in division one of the Big V men’s is still alive after defeating top-two side Chelsea on Saturday night, and coach Sam Gebauer’s tactical nous was as influential as any player.

In his first season in the role, Gebauer’s youthful age for an off-court coach hasn’t been an issue is gaining the Gators’ respect - and if there was any doubt of his credibility, there would surely be none left after Saturday night.

Employing specific defenders for the Gulls’ star duo, as well as drawing up clutch plays down the stretch, Gebauer’s composure in the heat of the contest to call the right move was critical for a Gators victory,

Before the contest, the research into Chelsea would pay dividends.

“We identified they have heavy talent in two guys, Gerrard Newby and AJ Williams, a pair of Big V legends that have won a hell of a lot of games,” Gebauer said.

“We needed to restrict Gerrard’s ability to own the glass and get offensive boards, and AJ can be their spark plug, so we needed some one who could run with him.

“We put Samuel Hawkins on AJ and Joseph Allen on Gerrard and I couldn’t be prouder of how they played their roles.”

Ultimately, Newby was held to 34.8 per cent shooting from the field, while Williams was held to 44.4 per cent.

In the last two minutes of the contest, the Gators trailed by as many as six, before Taine Wattie heated up.

A play designed by Gebauer and skipper Josh Kooiman allowed Wattie to drain a lead-taking three from the same spot he hit a game winner from in 2025.

“When Chelsea got ahead by six we felt the pressure, but we’ve been in that position and the guys have become so composed in these situations,” Gebauer said.

“We called a timeout and Kooiman came off and called it should be a shot for Taine.

“We set what we call a ‘ghost screen’, just to provide Taine an extra second of time to get into his shot.

“The gravity Taine and Kooiman have as shooters caused a miscommunication for the Gulls defenders when we ran the play, and gave Taine plenty of space to rise into his shot.”

With 30 seconds left to play, there were still multiple defensive possessions left to handle, but Gebauer had his own say in the clutch.

“One of their last sideline plays I recognised was one of ours we’d run earlier in the season against them to get one of our development players his first shot,” Gebauer recalled.

“I was screaming like a mad man running down the sideline that I knew the set-up, and we were able to clog the lane and force a turnover.”

As Allen chased down Newby for a buzzer-beating block in front of the Gators bench, Gebauer felt a sense of elation not many other coaching moments have come close to in his basketball tenure.

And now, with two games left to play and relegation on the line, he’s ensuring Shepparton keep the foot on the throat.

“We’ve made an effort to treat Bulleen and Whittlesea like they’re Chelsea,” Gebauer said.

“If you beat a top team you run the risk of taking the foot off the gas against a lower-ranked side, but we’re not planning on doing that.

“These are our finals, and the guys are hungry.”

The Gators face the Boomers on the road on Saturday before one last home stand against the Pacers on August 1.

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