Twelve months ago the Otago Goldrush coach trudged out of the Edgar Centre furious his side had been pipped 71-66 by the Harbour Breeze in a tense final.
"Basically, since driving out of the car park with my tail between my legs, I've been putting a plan together to make sure we have the best possible opportunity to go one better this year," he said.
"That is the goal and anything less than that, we would be severely disappointed.
"I'm really excited. I don't know if confident is the word but I think we can get it done and I'm really excited about that fact."
The Women's Basketball Championship finals get under way today with the defending champion Breeze playing the New Zealand Force Academy at 9am. Otago has drawn the Nelson Sparks in its opening game at 11am and will play the Hutt Valley Flyers in the late game at 7pm.
Otago made the final in 2005 and again last year, but the title has eluded the province since 2000.
Interestingly, it was two international netballers who helped power Otago to a 75-69 win against Waikato 11 years ago.
Belinda Colling and Donna Wilkins (nee Loffhagen) teamed up with classy Australian forward Jennifer Gardiner and nippy guard Tracey Paul to form a formidable line-up.
Perhaps it is an omen that two netballers are once again expected to feature prominently. Former Silver Ferns Jodi Brown and Daneka Wipiiti were impressive during the opening round of qualifying in Palmerston North.
The pair missed the second qualifying tournament but have returned for the finals and will line up alongside Tall Ferns guard Suzie Bates and talented forward Casey Lockwood.
There is plenty of depth in the squad with Tall Ferns wider squad member Samara Gallaher, experienced guards Janet Main and Elise Cassidy and another netballer, former Otago Rebel Danielle Calnan, rounding out a very useful line-up.
Tall Ferns forward Patrice McKenzie is the only player missing from an otherwise full-strength squad. McKenzie was keen to play for Otago but her Australian club the Frankston Blues would not release her for the tournament.
"I think it is fantastic that those two are keen to come back and play basketball," Matehaere said.
"I don't think netballers lose anything by playing basketball and I don't think basketballers lose anything by playing netball.
The skill sets are very similar. "Whether it is basketball or netball, I think we need to take a wider view on who we bring into representative teams."
Wipiiti is based in Auckland and does not arrive in Dunedin until today. It is far from ideal preparation but Matehaere said she was familiar with the systems the Goldrush will employ and should fold back into the side seamlessly.
Otago won the opening qualifying tournament with Lockwood averaging 15.6 points and Wipiiti and Brown chipping in with 12.6 and 8.4 points respectively. Bates' return has strengthened Otago further and the home side will start the tournament as one of the teams to beat.
The defending champion had been in cruise control but remain dangerous through players such as Jordan Hunter and Natasha Hall.
The Academy is the No 1-ranked side after finishing second in both qualifying tournaments. It will look to promising forward Penina Davidson to post some big numbers and Amanda Harris is a skilful player.
Nelson also has a few netballers hiding in its ranks. Nicki Rampton (nee Thompson) and Jo Andrew both had a stint with the Otago Rebels, and Kat Jones (nee Stephens) played some basketball for the Otago Breakers. Tall Fern Jelena Vucinic has a famous basketball name and the skill set to go with it.
The Hutt Valley Flyers appear to be the weakest of the top five teams.
The Southland Pearls have assembled a quality cast for the second-tier plate competition.
Wilkins, who helped Otago to back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, is on the team list alongside the Selby-Rickit sisters, Te Paea and Te Huinga Reo.
Te Paea was named in the Otago netball team earlier this week and Te Huinga Reo has been invited to train with the Silver Ferns.
The evergreen Carolyn Grey is fronting for Waikato again. Amazingly, the 57-year-old - yes, 57 - has been playing top level basketball for more than 30 years.
Women's championship
Dunedin, today to Saturday
Championship
Nelson Sparks
Harbour Breeze
Otago Goldrush
New Zealand Force Academy
Hutt Valley Flyers
Plate
Palmerston North Storm
Southland Pearls
Waikato Wizards
Taranaki Trojans
Canterbury Wildcats
Otago draw
v Nelson Sparks, today, 11am
v Hutt Valley Flyers, tonight, 7pm
v NZ Academy, tomorrow, 11am
v Harbour Breeze, tomorrow, 5pm
Finals, Saturday All games at the Edgar Centre
Otago Goldrush
Janet Main, Samara Gallaher, Danielle Calnan, Chantelle McKenzie, Renee Johnson, Casey Lockwood, Soraya Umaga-Jensen, Elise Cassidy, Daneka Wipiiti, Jodi Brown, Suzie Bates, Grace Allan.
