8 Sept. 2025 | 2:44 PM EAT
The JT Jaguars might have swept the City Oilers during the regular season, but as they prepare to open their quarterfinal series, they’re making one thing clear: none of that matters now.
“Right now, the series is 0-0,” Kasasa said. “It’s two good teams getting ready to play, and we have to be able to execute at a high, high level all the things that are in the process of winning.”
That mindset reflects the team’s steady approach to postseason basketball, where adaptability, execution, and discipline outweigh reputation or prior success.
“It’s the playoffs,” Cuthbert added. “It’s two teams fighting for something. There’s no one way that a series is supposed to go, as you’ve seen over the course of the NBL and as you’re seeing in the playoffs now. At the end of the day, have no expectations about how it’s going to go. Just be ready to give the environment what it needs and do whatever it takes to win for however long it takes to win.”
Kasasa didn’t mince words: “Moving forward, it’s a whole different ball game, different team, different challenges. So my focus is fixed on that.”
The JT Jaguars are coming off a physical regular season. While they went on a 4-0 win stretch and quickly advanced to the 2nd position, the intensity served as a wake-up call for how demanding each series can be. Kevin Moru was blunt in his assessment.
“Overall, we should play a lot better, especially myself, and that’s the feeling that I have from this game. My defense will be upped and I will put in my all.”
All eyes now shift to the City Oilers, the team they will be taking on first in the series. Chol Abraham is aware of the external expectations, but he’s not buying into the pressure narrative.
“If anything, it’s us who have more to lose, because we’re supposed to win. But they’re dangerous. They’re dangerous. They’re going in as the underdog, and they have the whole of New York behind them, and they have the capability, you know? It’s us that have to be on our A-game and have that same hunger that we had last year, and we’re showing it. We’re not defending what we did last year. We’re trying to win another championship, and that’s going to be our mindset going into this and into the future.”
He emphasized that success would come down to the usual fundamentals.
“You have to rebound, take care of the basketball, defend without fouling,” he said. “It comes down to executing simple details with a high level of physicality and attention. That’s the test of the playoffs.”
But inside the locker room, the focus remains on execution, not emotion. Coach Cuthbert stressed the importance of flexibility and in-game adjustments.
“When you’re playing against guys like that, the things that you can control are even more important: your transition defense, your rebounding, your spacing, your execution, your defending without fouling.”
Cuthbert continued: “They test those controllables with a high level of discipline. You have to be ready to do those, and the nights when you don’t, obviously you have to be ready to get to something that makes the most sense at that particular time and that puts you in position to try to win.”
He emphasized a similar point, noting the mental demands of playoff basketball.
“So, you’ve just got to prepare for every scenario that you can and come out and play good basketball. Play hard. Have effort. Play within our identity and let the game take care of itself. But the way we prepare, the way Sudi prepares, we’re prepared for it all.”
That level-headed approach has defined the JT Jaguars all season, and it’s the mindset they’ll carry into Game 1.
“You just have to be ready to give the game what it needs,” Cuthbert said. “So keeping that open-minded and flexible, and at the same time, knowing that whoever’s out there gives us a good chance to be successful.”
And as Kasasa put it after the last game of the regular season:
“This is the playoffs. Everything we did in the regular season doesn’t really mean a whole lot now. It’s not like we get to start up 1-0 or something like that. Just understand that it’s the playoffs, they’re the 10-time champions and are here for a reason, and they’re a really good team. It’s going to be a good challenge, but we have prepared for these challenges, and will be ready when the time comes.”