Dinardo focused on Suns success ahead of 200th game

Brendan Dinardo has been part of two championship teams at different clubs and is confident things are on the right path to build to that at the Kalamunda Eastern Suns as he approaches his 200-game milestone.

Dinardo is as natural a playmaking point guard as you'll find across the league which is why even as a 17-year-old, he started his growth at the East Perth Eagles including as part of the 2014 championship squad behind some genuine stars, many of whom are still playing in the NBL1 West today.

Dinardo continued to grow as that leader and point guard with the Eagles until by the end of 2018, a work opportunity took him to Geraldton and at that point, he had no idea if he would continue playing for what turned out to be the final SBL season or not.

However, he quickly connected with coach Dayle Joseph and immediately fit onto that team where he was an important piece of the outfit that broke the drought for that 2019 championship with the Buccaneers.

Life would take another twist and Dinardo would return to Perth and luckily enough as it would have it with COVID taking over. He liked what he saw building at the Eastern Suns under the coaching of Mark Utley and wanted part of it.

He has been at the Suns ever since as he now prepares to celebrate his 200th game this Saturday night when his Kalamunda team take on the Rockingham Flames at Mike Barnett Sports Complex.

It's a milestone the 28-year-old is rightfully proud of getting to.

"To be honest I didn’t really realise it was coming up this week," Dinardo said. 

"I just keep going through the motions and it becomes a bit of a habit after all these years that you rock up to training, keep playing games and doing it every week. 

"I did know it was coming up at some point this year because we celebrated the 150th a couple of years ago at Suns so I had a feeling it was getting close. It gives you the chance to reflect and it's been a good 10 years or so and I'm happy that I've been able to make it this far."

Having the support of the family

It's been quite the journey for Dinardo to now be about to celebrate his 200-game milestone from when he got his first chance to play with East Perth in 2013.

For Dinardo to have had the support right throughout the journey of his family and now of girlfriend Kim, it has meant the world to him.

"Ever since I was a junior my family has always been there supporting me at every training and every game, and now that we've transitioned to NBL1 they can watch the live streams whenever we are in Geraldton or wherever so that's great," he said.

"They are always making the time and effort to support me whenever they can which I really appreciate. I guess I enjoy playing in front of my family and girlfriend more than anybody and their support means everything to me. Hopefully they get some enjoyment from watching me as well."

Decision to move on from East Perth

Dinardo did all his junior development at East Perth before he would play 24 games that rookie season in 2013 and another 21 in 2014.

Even though he wasn’t quite out on the court for the championship triumph, being part of that squad and on that team was a terrific opportunity with teammates like Drew Williamson, Kyle Armour, Joe-Alan Tupaea, Sunday Dech, Mathiang Muo and Tom Jervis.

He would continue to play with the Eagles up until the 2018 and while it was a difficult to decision to leave, it turned out best for him both personally, professionally and for his basketball.

"I pretty much did all my WABL at Eagles and then I was fortunate coming out of 18s to get asked to try out and join the SBL squad," Dinardo said.

"I joined a team that had Adam Forde at the head coaching position so the timing couldn’t have been better just with his knowledge and experience as well as the winners we had. 

"We had guys like Joe-Alan, Tom Jervis, Kyle Armour and a lot of others on that team so coming in as a 17-year-old I came into that winning culture and developed there. I got to learn from the best of the best you could say with the coaches and players we had. 

"It was a tough decision I guess to move on eventually, but for work purposes I got an opportunity to work in Geraldton and from there was lucky enough to have a good year playing for the Buccs too for that season."

Perfect year to be with the Buccs

It turned out that Dinardo spent just the one year living and working in Geraldton, and the one season in 2019 playing at the Buccaneers.

His timing couldn’t have been more perfect and he became an important member of the team as a point guard alongside the likes of Marcus Alipate and Alex Ducas that was part of the championship triumph.

"I wasn’t expecting much because I was going into a new town and I wasn’t sure if with work I'd even be able to play at all to be honest, or how much I could," Dinardo said. 

"But I reached out to the coach to see if I could join the team even if it was just as a training player so I could get to know some people in a new town, and just to feel a part of it. 

"But it eventuated where I could pretty much play the whole season and for how we did that year and winning the championship, I couldn’t have asked for more from my time in Geraldton."

To not only be part of a championship, but to share it with teammates like Mat Wundenberg, Aaron Ralph and Liam Hunt, and to see what it meant to the entire Geraldton community is something Dinardo will always cherish being part of.

"It was amazing and a bit more extra special for Geraldton because the whole town gets behind the team," he said.

"You look at what it meant to guys like Mat, Ralphy and Liam, they've given so much to the team and the club and the town, and hadn’t won for a while after being so close. 

"They'd always been at the top for many years so it was just good to help get over the line for them because their commitment and dedication to the club is still just so massive. I'm sure the town really appreciated what we were able to do that year and I loved the chance to be part of it."

Moving on from Geraldton and coming to Suns

Life brought Dinardo back to Perth in 2020 and when he was looking for a new club, he liked what he saw developing at the Eastern Suns and joined for that West Coast Classic season, and has never looked back.

"I guess I just had another job opportunity back in Perth and I wanted to come back to be closer to family and friends so I didn’t want to pass that chance to head back even though it would have been nice to try and defend our championship," Dinardo said. 

"Then I guess with what happened with COVID, it probably turned out to have a silver lining there too that I came back to Perth and was looking for a bit of a new journey to my career. Suns ended up being where I decided to go and I've never looked back really."

Growing towards some success with Suns

Having been around championship winning programs at both East Perth and Geraldton, Dinardo has a good grasp of what success takes to build and what it looks like.

Now about to become a 200-game experienced point guard, he wants to have a role in what he hopes will be the most successful Eastern Suns men's team that they are building in the first season under the coaching now of Aaron Trahair.

"When I first got to the club they were coming off a good season in 2019 in their own right making the playoffs so that was factor in my decision seeing they had a young and exciting core group coming up," he said. 

"They seemed quite well coached by Mark Utley so that was part of the reason I chose to go to Suns and it has been a bit of a rollercoaster the last couple of years with different coaches, and we haven’t gone too great in the win-loss column. 

"But most of the key core guys from Kalamunda have stuck around we are growing together, and building that trust and relationships. 

"From here I guess to add in the likes of Sebba, Robbie, Maxy, Joe and a few others, it's only improved us and we can only continue to grow as a team from here. 

"Hopefully we are starting to see that we are building to some success once we've got some stability with our key components which can build some habits that leads to us getting better and better."

Dinardo is confident that things are on track at the Eastern Suns for success with them at a minimum shooting for a playoff appearance in 2023, and then continuing to build on that moving forward.

"I've been at winning teams from being there at that East Perth team and then going to Geraldton where I had success," he said.

"So to go through the struggle we've had at Suns it can be hard, but I think going through those hard times can make it better when you do finally start winning more games and hopefully you can continue to strive to be the top team, and eventually push for a championship. 

"I guess that's everyone's goal and it's what we're working towards and hopefully it's not too far away."

Having a teammate who has played 500 games

One reason that Dinardo is confident the path the Eastern Suns are on is because of the experience they've added over the last two years from the Joondalup Wolves in the form of Seb Salinas, Rob Huntington and Reece Maxwell.

Dinardo has spent most of his career going up against Salinas in the back court including their battle in that 2019 Grand Final where the Buccs beat the Wolves, but to now see his leadership and professionalism has given him a whole new appreciation of him.

To think that Salinas has now just celebrated 500 games too while Dinardo is getting to 200 after a decade long career is something that he just can't comprehend.

"We always joke around at training and stuff that nobody is going to catch Seb, and how he's still going after all these years," Dinardo said.

"To think I've been playing for 10 years and I'm not even halfway to where he is, it's a true testament to how hard he's been putting into WA basketball and the commitment he's made to the SBL and NBL1.

"You always hear about Sebba in particular being a real true leader and when you play against him, you can feel it from being on the other team. 

"But now that he's joined us for the last two years, the input that he puts in during training and the games is beyond what anyone else can really offer with all the experience and knowledge that he can share with the rest of the team. 

"It's just a real valuable attribute that he brings to the team and the same goes for Maxy and Robbie. They are very well spoken and just have a lot of experience behind them to really help our team grow so it's been great having them on board."

Taking on the Flames in milestone game

Dinardo will reach his 200-game mark this Saturday night when his Eastern Suns take on a defending champion Rockingham Flames team that has lost their past two matches after going almost a year without losing at all.

For Dinardo, he and his Eastern Suns teammates will just focus on playing their way and hoping it turns out well.

"I think for us we're not too worried if they've been winning or losing lately, we're more focused on worrying about us and figuring out what we need to do. We just try to do our thing and try to make sure we play the way we want to be playing," Dinardo said.

"I feel like the way we've been training and playing lately, we're ready for this challenge to show that we do belong with these top teams and we can prove that we can be a playoff team and go a bit further if possible."