The defending champion has been the team to beat again this season, winning the two qualifying tournaments with relative ease. Both times it was Otago that had to be content with second place, and the runner-up tag is starting to wear thin, as Harbour has won the past five games between the two sides.
The finals start in Dunedin today and Otago opens its campaign with a section one round-robin match against Harbour this morning. While the loser will not be eliminated, it is a good opportunity to make a statement.
"The last five or six games, we've been second best," Matehaere said.
"Obviously we want to prove to ourselves that we can actually do it. So we are definitely focusing on the game."
Harbour beat Otago 70-64 in the final of the first qualifying tournament in New Plymouth in June and followed that victory with a 62-47 win in Auckland last month.
The Goldrush had its opportunities in Auckland. It started well, shooting out to a 15-point lead, but buckled under the pressure.
Defensively, Otago held together but its game fell apart at the other end, with shots which would normally drop lipping out.
Veteran guard Noni Wharemate imposed herself on the match, scoring 22 points to help her side post a 15-point win.
Matehaere said some valuable lessons were garnered from that outing, and he thought the side was a much tougher unit as a result. But Harbour was a very capable side and the Goldrush would need to be at its best to reverse recent results.
"We are going to need to be more aggressive on defence and more organised on offence. I'm pretty happy with where we are at in terms of that. We're also going to need to rebound well and run the floor.
"If we get that done, and play the same sort of defence we played last time, then we should be all right."
Two key Goldrush players are under an injury cloud. American-born forward Casey Lockwood is carrying a knee complaint into the tournament and may not feature until the playoffs, and guard Soraya Jensen-Umaga injured an ankle in training this week. She is unlikely to recover but will be given every chance to prove her fitness.
The Goldrush will look to forward Patrice McKenzie and guards Suzie Bates and Samara Gallaher to create much of the play. Bates played for the Tall Ferns at the Beijing Olympics and McKenzie, who has returned from a four-year stint playing college basketball in the United States, has been impressive this season.
McKenzie has been selected, alongside Bates and Lockwood, to trial for the Tall Ferns.
Point guard Janet Main is another player the Goldrush looks to for some spark, and centre Poppy Saker-Norrish and Danielle Calnan are valuable contributors.
The teams will jostle for position in the opening two days, with the playoffs and final scheduled for Saturday.
Women's Basketball Championship- Otago's draw
• Today: v Harbour Breeze, 11am; v Taranaki Trojans, 7pm.
• Tomorrow: v Waikato Wizards, 11am; v NZ Force Academy, 5pm.
• Saturday: Championship final, 4pm.
• Otago Goldrush: Kelly Groot, Chantelle McKenzie, Suzie Bates, Zoe Cadzow, Poppy Saker-Norrish, Danielle Calnan, Soraya Jensen-Umaga, Patrice McKenzie, Frances Tilly, Renee Johnson, Samara Gallaher, Janet Main, Casey Lockwood (one to be omitted).
