Melbourne Tigers t-shirts

Gather round and let me tell you about a time when the league was booming, so much so, NBL players were household names!

Back in the 90’s when the league was booming, one of the teams to beat was the Melbourne Tigers who took out their first championship in ’93 and then won it again in ’97. Lindsay Gaze prowled the sidelines while his son Andrew was the superstar. He wasn’t alone as he was joined by two of the legends of the league, Lanard Copeland and Mark Bradtke.

Fast forward to the 2000’s when the big three had moved on, a new superstar emerged for the Tigers in the form of Chris Anstey who returned from several years in Europe. Anstey dominated the league helping Melbourne to another two titles in ’06 and ’08.    

As you can see from the pic below, we’ve come up with two different styles for this team, based on the team’s classic uniforms from back in the day.

Check out our store for team nine of the "Legends" range:
http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/

NBA game down under and some gold from Chris Anstey

Two good reads from yesterday, first there is talk on the NBA blog about a possible pre-season game being played down under which I think is well overdue:

Why not down under?

By the end of 2013-14, the NBA since 1978 will have staged 148 preseason or regular season games in 20 countries and territories across Europe, North and South America and Asia. Still waiting their turn – to answer the many emails we get here at HTB – are Australia and New Zealand.

Scott Levy, senior vice president and managing director, NBA Asia, acknowledged the heavy interest in the NBA in those countries. Past and present players have hailed from there, including Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, Luc Longley, Sean Marks, Shane Heal, Chris Anstey and Nathan Jawai. Oklahoma City’s first-round pick Steven Adams is from New Zealand and Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving was born in Melbourne.

Participation is high, Australia ranks No. 1 in subscribers to NBA League Pass International and in NBAstore.com’s international revenue, and the country certainly has the sports facilities and culture befitting a possible preseason destination.

“Australia is an important market for the NBA in the region and we enjoy a great following from our fans,” Levy said. “We have conducted several NBA events in the country, including the 2011 Asia Pacific Team Camp featuring the top youth basketball players from Australia, New Zealand, China, and South Korea. There have been discussions around many different programs from grass-roots clinics, development programs, mass participation events, and a preseason game, but nothing is definite at this point.”

For the full article, click here.

Then, in his weekly blog for the NBL website, Chris Anstey talks about what he learnt from Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki while he was playing for the Dallas Mavericks. Click here to read the whole story but what surprised me most was his final paragraph:

I played tennis until I was 17. My doubles partner, Dustin Fletcher, played to the same age and will become the second highest AFL games player in history.

Being a Bombers fan I didn't know this about one of my all-time favourite players. That must've been the tallest, skinniest doubles pair ever!

NBL photo feature pic on ESPN's NBA webpage

Thanks to Jonny Flynn's time with the Melbourne Tigers, an NBL photo is the feature pic on ESPN's NBA webpage today:

The article is actually by the team from Grantland. Here's the excerpt about Jonny's time in the NBL:

Flynn spent last season with the Australian National Basketball League's Melbourne Tigers. "I really wanted to play in a place that was English-speaking," Flynn said. "That was really my main focus. I want to know what's going on around me." He showcased his burst, stood up against physical players who wanted to prove their worth against a former NBA lottery pick, and was selected as a reserve for the league's all-star game. "They don't call fouls down there," Flynn said. "In the league, you can't touch guys. Down there, you can have the ball and a guy will be almost forearm-shivering you in your side and they won't call a foul. I just think getting beat up and coming from the NBA, I had that target on me."

Flynn shared an agent, Leon Rose, with Melbourne's coach, Chris Anstey. "He would have benefited from the continuous playing time over the course of a season, and the ability to run a team for extended minutes," Anstey wrote in an e-mail. "International defensive rules were new to him, whether playing it or attacking it, and he got better as the season went on.

"His offensive skillset is NBA-caliber, but he needs to continue to work on his defensive game. As great as Syracuse is as a basketball program, it certainly doesn't create the best defensive man-to-man habits in its players for when they become pros."

Not many NBA players go down under. Fewer return to carve out a sustainable NBA career. Flynn, despite the summer league setback, is attempting to do just that.

To read the full story, click here.

Julius Hodge back in the NBL

Thanks to Mookie from A Stern Warning for posting it on Twitter ... it seems the most hated man in Adelaide is returning to the NBL to "save" the Melbourne Tigers. I heard a rumour about it earlier in the week but was waiting to see if it was true or not.

Considering the way Julius Hodge left the NBL last season, it'll be interesting to see how he's received by fans around the league, especially against the 36ers. Melbourne are certainly not trying to win any popularity contests with some of the most hated players in the league. The controversial Hodge joins Anstey, Worthington and Kendall ... expect them to cop plenty of "heat" on the road.

Hodge returns to NBL with Tigers

By: Melbourne Tigers

In a major coup the Melbourne Tigers have secured the signature of 25 year old exciting import Julius Hodge.

With injuries to key players Chris Anstey, Ben Knight and Nathan Crosswell, the Tigers have been forced to find a player to bolster the squad and have been lucky enough to acquire the services of Julius.

After a promising college career with North Carolina State, Hodge was selected at pick 20 in the 2005 NBA draft. Hodge went on to play the second half of the 2007/08 NBL season with the Adelaide 36ers picking up 3 consecutive NBL player of the week awards. He re-joined the 36ers for 8 games during the 2008/09 NBL season before leaving on the advice of his manager due to a pay dispute.

NBL update

With less than 2 weeks until the NBL season kicks off I'm slowly getting back in to blogging shape after taking much of the month of August off. Other than it being the off-season in the NBA, not yet pre-season in the NBL and generally not much happening in the basketball world, I was selling my unit and moving house and office. Other than the normal fun that comes with moving I had some issues with the phone lines and my ADSL so that took time to get sorted.

Anyway, I'm easing back in to bball mode with some updates about the NBL from the last week or so.

1. From last week's Top End Challenge pre-season tournament in Darwin, here is the vision:
Day 1
Day 2
Adelaide vs Melbourne
Gold Coast vs Wollongong
Townsville vs Breakers
Cairns vs Perth
Day 3
Perth vs Melbourne
Gold Coast vs Townsville
Cairns vs Adelaide
Wollongong vs Breakers

If you missed it, John Rillie was there in a media capacity reporting for the NBL website and tweeting like crazy. He did very well until an errant pass took out his laptop.

Some of his random thoughts:

• All Tournament Team - James Harvey - Gold Coast Blaze- Corey Willimas - Townsville Crocodiles- Kirk Penney - New Zealand Breakers- Tywain McKee - Wollongong Hawks- Cameron Tragardh (MVP) - Wollongong Hawks
• Dillon Boucher makes plays just because he wants it more than the guy he is competing against.
• Tim Coenraad will give the Rookie of the Year Award a nudge this year. Back from the States and just finished playing for the Northside Wizards in the Queensland ABL, this young fellow plays with confidence and a chip on his shoulder. Gordie McLeod has found a good one here.

Good to see Tragardh and Coenraad who we highlighted in the off-season getting some love at the NBL level. We were having e-mail discussions about it last week and most of the boys (Tux & Mitch) are jumping on the Hawks bandwagons. Its tough when you don't have a home team to support ... maybe next year the Brisbane Bullets will be back?

The big news this week was the announcement that NBL superstar Chris Anstey will miss the first half of the season due to hip surgery. It'll be interesting to see how the Tigers perform without Anstey who has been the focus of their team for the last few years. If Sam Mackinnon and Mark Worthington are healthy they should still do well ... but with or without Anstey, they still lack a decent point guard to run the show.

From a basketball shooting perspective, its good to see that Phill (Phull) Jones was named as the captain of the Cairns Taipans team. When he was let go by the Breakers after last season there was a chance he may not get picked up by another team so its great to see him leading the Taipans and he's already in good shooting form so far this pre-season.

John Rillie ... free agent

I was SHOCKED to see the news that John Rillie had been released by the Townsville Crocodiles. I first noticed something on FaceBook from JR last night and then had it confirmed on his blog.

Its sad that John won't finish his career in Townsville where his young family have seemed well suited to over the last few years. JR mentions on his site that he only wanted to play one more season and it would have been good to have him do this is as a Croc.

That said, I don't think JR will have too much trouble picking up with a new team, after all he played for Brisbane, Adelaide, West Sydney before heading up north to The 'Ville. Of the 8 teams named to the new league, I think you can really only rule out the Breakers as they have more than enough shooters. But the rest of the teams would no doubt love a veteran shooter to play 25 mins off the bench as well as bring experience to the locker room. With the Tigers back in the league, I'm sure Anstey would love a real shooter to kick out to from the double team (no offence Ebi).

We wish Rillie the best of luck in his next/final chapter and you can of course follow along as it all happens at JR, On Fire.

Townsville Crocodiles > News

Rillie & Egan released

Thursday, 28 May 2009

The Townsville McDonald’s Crocodiles today announced that they would not be looking at this stage to re-sign Daniel Egan and John Rillie for the 2009/2010 NBL season. Both players met with club officials today and were advised of the decision.

“Given the announcement today that Melbourne would be fielding a team and that there is now 8 teams ready to play next season, we believed it was important that we gave both John and Daniel the best opportunity to talk with the other clubs about contracts for the coming season,” Chief Executive Officer Ian Smythe said.

“Clubs will be able to register player contracts commencing next week and it would be unfair of us not to advise the players at the first opportunity of our intentions.” Smythe added. “Up until today there were some uncertainties that prevented me from advising the players of our intentions,” Smythe said. “I am sorry that I was unable to do so beforehand but the circumstances were unavoidable, given the long and protracted process involved with the new league.

Ian Smythe acknowledged that the decision to go down this path was not taken lightly and was one of the most difficult decisions the club had had to make. “Both Daniel and John have been an integral part of our program over the past seasons” Smythe stated, “but with the changes in the NBL, we have made the decision to take the club in a different direction for the future.”

“John has been one of the games greatest players and showed last year that he still has a lot to offer the game and the league” Smythe said “but looking to the future we need to give some of our younger players the opportunity to develop.”

“Daniel has also been a great contributor to the game and the league over all of his years in the NBL “Smythe added. “ When Daniel arrived here from Brisbane he had a lot to prove and he has not let the fans down,” Smythe said.

“I would likely to publicly acknowledge the great work that both these players have done for the Crocs and as ambassadors for the game and wish them all the success in the future,” Smythe said.

“It is never easy to let players go that have contributed to the club in so many ways,” Smythe went onto say “but we have to look to the future and making the hard decisions is part of that process.” “We have said from the beginning that we expected to be a part of the National League for many years to come and building a competitive side is a key component for this to occur.”

NBL Grand Final fast facts

With the NBL Grand Final series getting underway tonight between the Dragons and the Tigers, i received the "fast facts" e-mail from the league office this morning.


SOUTH DRAGONS VS MELBOURNE TIGERS

Game 1 – Hisense Arena, Wednesday March 4, 7:30pm AEDT
Game 2 – State Netball Hockey Centre, Friday March 6, 7:30pm AEDT
Game 3 – Hisense Arena, Sunday March 8, 7:30pm AEDT
* Game 4 – State Netball Hockey Centre, Wednesday March 11, 7:30pm AEDT
* Game 5 – Hisense Arena, Friday March 13, 7:30pm AEDT
* = If required
All games LIVE on FOX SPORTS

All-Time Record: Dragons 4, Tigers 6

At Hisense Arena:
22/10/06 – South 108 lost to Melbourne 128
26/12/06 – South 107 defeated Melbourne 94
15/12/07 – South 88 lost to Melbourne 98
18/10/08 – South 108 defeated Melbourne 80
08/02/09 - South 93 defeated Melbourne 83
At SNHC:
10/01/07 – Melbourne 106 defeated South 94
13/10/07 – Melbourne 101 defeated South 98
09/02/08 – Melbourne 132 defeated South 104
13/12/08 – Melbourne 98 lost to South 107
26/01/09 – Melbourne 92 defeated South 86

At this venue:
This is the first ever Grand Final match played at Hisense Arena.

Previous Grand Final games at SNHC:
26/02/06 – Melbourne 103 defeated Sydney 99 (game 2 of 3)
04/03/07 – Melbourne 105 defeated Brisbane 91 (game 2 of 4)
09/03/07 – Melbourne 94 lost to Brisbane 103 (game 4 of 4)
07/03/08 – Melbourne 104 defeated Sydney 93 (game 2 0f 5)
12/03/08 – Melbourne 87 lost to Sydney 90 (game 4 of 5)

This will be the fifth time two teams from the same city have played in the decider and on all four previous occasions the series went the full distance.

Grand Final teams from the same city:
1992: South East Melbourne defeated Melbourne Tigers 2-1
1996: South East Melbourne defeated Melbourne Tigers 2-1
1997: Melbourne Tigers defeated South East Melbourne 2-1
2004: Sydney Kings defeated West Sydney Razorbacks 3-2

Coaches’ Grand Final History:
Brian Goorjian is the all-time games coached leader with 511 wins from 730 games (70%). This is his 13th trip to the Grand Final and this year will make it 6 Championship attempts in the last 7 seasons.

Brian Goorjian: record 37 games, 17 wins, 20 losses, 5 Championships, 7 runners-up
1991 – Spectres vs Wildcats – lost game 1, won game 2, lost game 3
1992 - Magic vs Tigers – lost game 1, won game 2, won game 3
1996 – Magic vs Tigers – lost game 1, won game 2, won game 3
1997 – Magic vs Tigers – lost game 1, won game 2, lost game 3
1998 – Magic vs 36ers – lost game 1, lost game 2
1999 – Titans vs 36ers – lost game 1, won game 2, lost game 3
2000 – Titans vs Wildcats – lost game 1, lost game 2
2003 – Kings vs Wildcats – won game 1, won game 2
2004 – Kings vs Razorbacks – won game 1, lost game 2, lost game 3, won game 4, won game 5
2005 – Kings vs Hawks – won game 1, won game 2, won game 3
2006 – Kings vs Tigers – lost game 1, lost game 2, lost game 3
2008 – Kings vs Tigers – won game 1, lost game 2, lost game 3, won game 4, lost game 5

Alan Westover is the first coach in NBL history to be in the Grand Final in all of his first four years in the job.
Has a 73% winning record overall with 115 wins from 157 matches.
Alan Westover: record 12 games, 7 wins, 5 losses, 2 Championships 1 runners-up
2006: Tigers vs Kings – won game 1, won game 2, won game 3
2007: Tigers vs Bullets – lost game 1, won game 2, lost game 3, lost game 4
2008: Tigers vs Kings – lost game 1, won game 2, won game 3, lost game 4, won game 5


Consecutive seasons in Grand Finals as coach:
5 - Brian Goorjian (96-00)
4 – Brian Goorjian (03-06)
4 – Brian Kerle (84-87)
4 - Alan Westover (06-09)
2 – Brian Goorjian (08-09)
2 – Brian Goorjian (91-92)
2 - Bob Turner (83-84)
2 – Phil Smyth (98-99)
2 – Bruce Palmer (88-89)
2 – Brian Kerle (79-80)
2 – Lindsay Gaze (92-93)
2 – Lindsay Gaze (96-97)
2 – Ken Cole (85-86)
2 – Brett Brown (94-95)

Goorjian is the first and only coach to win 5 NBL Championships. Phil Smyth was the first man to get 6 Championship titles with 3 as a coach and 3 as a player. David Stiff also has 6 titles to his name – all as a player.

5 – Brian Goorjian,
4 - Brian Kerle
3 – Phil Smyth
2 – Lindsay Gaze, Bob Turner, Alan Westover
1 – Murray Arnold, Alan Black, Brett Brown, Cal Bruton, Ken Cole, Jim Ericksen, Adrian Hurley, Brendan Joyce, Jerry Lee, Bruce Palmer, Ken Richardson, Joey Wright

Most Championships: (player)
6 – David Stiff5 – Larry Sengstock4 – John Dorge, Ricky Grace, Paul Rees
3 – Gary Ball, Mark Bradtke, CJ Bruton, Martin Cattalini, James Crawford, Mark Davis, Scott Fisher, Jamie Kennedy, Leroy Loggins, Brett Maher, Herb McEachin, Dave Nelson, Scott Ninnis, Rupert Sapwell, Brad Sheridan, Robert Sibley, Phil Smyth, Andrew Vlahov, Chris Anstey, David Barlow


Winning Franchises:
This will be the 31st NBL Championship to be decided and below is a list of how many championships each team has won.

4 – Adelaide 36ers, Perth Wildcats, Melbourne Tigers
3 – Canberra Cannons, Brisbane Bullets, Sydney Kings,
2 – North Melbourne Giants, South East Melbourne Magic, St. Kilda Saints,
1 – Launceston Casino City, West Adelaide Bearcats, Wollongong Hawks,

The Dragons were the only team that Melbourne could not score 100 points against in a game this year. The Tigers averaged triple-figures against every other team this year except for South and Cairns. Against the Dragons, Melbourne averaged just 88.3 ppg and versus Cairns it was 89.7 ppg. Over the season the Tigers scored 101.6 ppg with a high of 116.3 against Wollongong.

There have been 75 Grand Final matches played in NBL history and just 11 times has a side come from behind at three-quarter time to win. Last year in Game 4 the Kings smashed the comeback record to win after trailing by 13 at the final change.

Best 3/4 time deficits to win a Grand Final match:
13 – Sydney vs Melbourne Game 4 20086 – Sydney vs West Sydney Game 5 2004 – won by 11
6 – Canberra vs Brisbane (single game decider) 1984 – won by 2
5 – Melbourne vs Sydney Game 2 2006 (after overtime) – won by 4
5 – Sydney vs Perth Game 1 2003 – won by 4
4 – North Melbourne vs Canberra Game 1 1989 – won by 6
4 – Brisbane vs Melbourne Game 1 2007 – won by 3
3 – Wollongong vs Townsville Game 3 2001 – won by 3
2 – West Sydney vs Sydney Game 3 2004 (after overtime) – won by 2
1 – Sth East Melb vs Melbourne Game 2 1997 – won by 6
1 – Sydney vs Melbourne Game 1 2008 – won by 21

Only three times since the league switched to a multiple game Grand Final in 1986 has a team lost Game One and gone on to take the title. The first was Brian Goorjian’s Magic in 1992 who recovered from an 18-point loss to the Tigers in the first game to win the next two by 22 and 7. In 1995, Perth lost Game One by 7 but won the next by 9 and 20. The Magic mirrored their 1992 effort in losing the opening match to the Tigers by 11 to win the next two by 4 and 37. Last year the Kings beat the Tigers by 21 but lost the series in 5 games. That’s 23 series and just 4 recoveries from a game one loss.

This year’s playoffs have so far indicated that there is no real advantage to the team that seemed to do well against them in the regular season.

- In the Quarter Finals, Townsville knocked out Perth despite losing 3 of 4 during the season and New Zealand thrashed Adelaide, who beat them twice of three earlier on.
- In the Semis, the Crocs seemed to have an edge over the Dragons with 3 wins to show from 4 matches but were beaten in 3 playoff games and the Tigers swept the Breakers even though they lost the first 2 games of the year against NZ.

In 2006, Melbourne swept the Kings in the decider despite going down 1-2 in the regular season and last year also won the title against Sydney even though they lost all 3 games earlier on.

This will be the fifth straight Grand Final where the first ranked team at the end of the regular season will play second in the decider. Since the Grand final switched to a multiple game series in 1986, there has been just 10 times where the top two ranked teams at the end of the season has gone on to play in the Championship match and surprisingly the second ranked team has defeated the top team in six of those meetings most recently by the Tigers over the Kings last year.
Position 1 defeats position 2 – 2007, 2005, 2003, 1991,
Position 2 defeats position 1 – 2008, 2006, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1989,


Triple-doubles in the Grand Final:
22/10/1994 – Darryl McDonald for North Melbourne vs Adelaide 17 points 10 assists 10 rebounds
28/4/2001 – Robert Rose for Townsville vs Wollongong 16 points 11 assists 11 rebounds
3/4/2003 – Ricky Grace for Perth vs Sydney 15 points 10 assists 10 rebounds

Overtime games in a Grand Final:
11/10/1986 – Adelaide 122 def Brisbane 119 in Game 1 of 3 (regulation 111 all)
22/10/1994 – North Melbourne 95 def Adelaide 93 in Game 1 of 2 (regulation 84 all)
31/03/2004 – West Sydney 82 def Sydney 80 in Game 3 of 5 (regulation 66 all)
26/02/2006 – Melbourne 103 def Sydney 99 in Game 2 of 3 (regulation 94 all)



GRAND FINAL TEAM RECORDS:

Biggest Margin:
37 – 1996 Sth East Melb 107 def Melbourne 70
37 – 1997 Melbourne 111 def Sth East Melb 74
28 – 1998 Adelaide 90 def Sth East Melb 62
27 – 2005 Sydney 112 def Wollongong 85


Highest Team Score:
125 – 2002 Adelaide 125 def West Sydney 107
122 – 1986 Adelaide 122 def Brisbane119 (O/T)
121 – 1985 Brisbane 121 def Adelaide 95
120 – 1988 Canberra 120 def North Melb. 95

Lowest Team Score:
62 – 1998 Sth East Melb 62 lost to Adelaide 90
69 – 1999 Victoria 69 lost to Adelaide 80
70 – 1996 Melbourne 70 lost to Sth East Melb 107
72 – 2004 Sydney 72 lost to West Sydney 87

Highest aggregate points:
241 – 1986 Adelaide 122 def Brisbane 119 (O/T)
232 – 2002 Adelaide 125 def West Sydney 107
230 – 1993 Melbourne 117 def Perth 113
218 – 1988 North Melb 117 def Canberra 101
218 – 1990 Perth 112 def Brisbane 106




South Dragons:

1 – Adam Gibson
The only Dragons player that has previously won an NBL Championship. Won with the Bullets in 2007 when they defeated the Tigers in four games and celebrated the Bullets victory at The Cage. Has started all 33 games for the Dragons in his first year at the club and leads the team in three-point shooting at 40.2%. Scored a season high 18-points four times this year. Has hit 25 of his past 26 free-throws and against the Crocs in the Semi Finals shot the ball at 59% overall and made 9 of his 14 three-pointers (64%).

4 – Nathan Herbert
Played 32 games in his second game after 28 in his debut last year and averaged 20 minutes per game in 2009 up from 16 last year. Averaged 7 ppg in 2009 and was the team’s best free—throw shooter at 85.3%. Has taken exactly 200 shots this year – double the exact 100 he took in 2008. Known for his long range bombing, Herbert has made just 1-from-16 over his last 4 games. His father Craig was runner up in the 1982 Grand Final for Geelong against West Adelaide at Newcastle.

6 – Daniel Dillon
Development player who is returning from 4 years at the University of Arizona. Was All-Australian three years in a row as U18 and U16 player. Played junior basketball around Melbourne including Bulleen and Sandringham. Dragons have won all 10 games when he has made it onto the floor.

7 – Joe Ingles
Is the only man that has been there for all 97 matches the Dragons have played since their inception. Led the team in assists (3.6) and was third in scoring at 13.2 ppg. Shot a career best 81.3% from the charity stripe this year (74-from-91) but curiously has yet to get to the free-throw line at all in his 4 playoff games to date. Scored a season high 27 points twice- against Adelaide and Perth- but is still to reach or match the 29-points he debuted with against New Zealand. Will play game number 100 in the 3rd game of the series – as will his team.

10 – Tarriq Naqqash
Made his NBL debut against the Tigers in their first clash this year with 2 points. As with fellow development player Daniel Dillon, South are yet to lose when Naqqash has seen court time in his 6 games. Is playing this season in the SEABL with the Mount Gambier Pioneers.

12 – Tremell Darden
Has started every game this year after being a late call up when original Dragon signing Ebi Ere backed out and signed with the Tigers. Averaged 11 ppg with a best of 22 against the Spirit and averaged 13 against the Tigers this year. Was the 3rd best scorer and the 4th best rebounder for South this year.

14 – Mika Vukona
Led the team in field goal shooting at 57.7% but was the leagues worst free-throw shooter at 33.3% (18-from-54). Scored a season high 12-points against Adelaide. Was the only Dragons to grab more rebounds than score points. Led his team in offensive boards. Missed just one game for the year – game 2 vs the Tigers in December.

15 – Rhys Carter
Waited 6 seasons and 162 games before making his playoff debut last week. Was big in game 3 against the Crocodiles with 16 points. Scored a career best 25 points in their overtime win over the Breakers in January.

22 – Matt Burston
Has played 76 games for the Dragons – second most only behind Joe Ingles. Missed the clubs first 6 games in 2007 through injury with his first in Dragons colours also the clubs first ever win (vs Cairns). His 191 games in 9 seasons makes him the most experienced player on the South roster. Injury cost him a game in game 1 of the 2003 Championship decider and managed just 7 minutes in game 2 in a loss to the Kings while representing the Wildcats.

23 – Donta Smith
Debuted with 9 points against the Gold Coast on Boxing Day. His only double–double came in his first game against the Tigers with 10 points and 11 boards. Shot 59% from the field in the semi-final series against the Crocs averaging 15.3 ppg.

33 – Mark Worthington
Played more minutes this year than any other South player. Was the only player in the league to score double figure points in every game he played. In his 4th year, had career best numbers in points (17.3) and rebounds (7.0). His career high of 35 points came in game one of last years Grand Final against the Tigers. Averaged a team high 20.6ppg in last years Finals series for the Kings. Has a record of 2 wins and 6 losses in his 8 Grand Final matches – all have been against the Tigers.





Melbourne Tigers:

2 – Ebi Ere
Provided one of the best Grand Final highlights when he scored 8 points in a minute in the deciding game 5 in 2004 that turned the result in the Kings favour. Hit 4 triples in the final quarter and led all players in scoring for that series. Played his second season in the NBL 3 years later with Brisbane and also got his team a title. Has scored more points in the competition than any other player in the last 2 seasons.

3 – Luke Kendall
The only member of the Tigers main roster who has yet to taste Championship success. Joined the Tigers at the start of January to replace the injured Sam Mackinnon. Played his first 4 years under Brian Goorjian at Sydney. Missed being a part of the 2005 Championship due to a knee injury suffered just 12 games into his pro career. Lost to the Tigers in both 2006 and 2008 campaigns. Hit a season high 25 points in game 1 of the Semi’s against the Breakers. Plays game number 150 in the 3rdmatch of the series.

4 – Daryl Corletto
Second only to Andrew Gaze as a one club only player in the NBL for the Tigers with 216 games in 8 years. Scored a season high 17 against the Hawks and has a career best 25-points scored twice in 2006. Has played all 12 Grand Final games under Alan Westover alongside Chris Anstey, Dave Thomas and Stephen Hoare.

5 – Tommy Greer
Was thrust into the starting five when the Tigers made their roster changes at Christmas and has stayed ever since with Melbourne’s winning 11 of the 13 since. Scored a career best 13 points against the Spirit in November. Will play his 100th game in game 2 of the GF series. Suited up in 2006 but saw no time in the Grand Final. Missed 2007 through injury but played in all 5 final last year.

11 – David Thomas
Scored the last 7 points for the Tigers in game 5 of last years Championship series and recorded his only 20/10 game of the year (21 points, 12 rebounds). One of a few players that have a better scoring average in the playoffs than the regular season. Played the first 16 games of the year with Cairns before re-joining the Tigers.

12 – Daniel Johnson
A development player in his first season in the NBL. Became a starter in the final 2 games of the season when Chris Anstey was rested. Posted the 2 highest scores of his year in those games – 10 vs the Crocs and 8 against Perth. The Dragons and the Taipans are the only teams Johnson has not yet scored a field goal against.

13 – Chris Anstey
Was voted the Larry Sengstock medallist for best player in the Grand Final Series in both of the Tigers victories in 2006 and 2008. Has been the leagues most prolific scorer and rebounder in the 4 years since his return from overseas in 2006 averaging 20.6 points and 10.4 rebounds in 142 matches. Scored a season high 32 against the Breakers back in September.

15 – Adrien Sturt
Played 17 games in his second season with the club with a career high 6 points against the Hawks. Scored 18 points during the year. A Melbourne Tiger junior.

20 – David Barlow
This is Barlow’s 6th season in the NBL and his 5th time in the Grand Final. His only miss was 2007 where he sat out the final 22 games due to a knee injury. Has a career winning percentage of 73% which actually is increased to 75% in playoffs. With Ebi Ere, has won a championship under both Alan Westover and Brian Goorjian. Fouled out 3 times this year – only Ere and Anstey once each were Melbourne’s only other foul outs this year.

23 – Nathan Crosswell
Started the last 13 games for the Tigers since their mid-season shake up. Also started the first part of last season off the bench but became a starter for the run home and helped lead Melbourne to his first Championship. Played under Brian Goorjian at Victoria in 2002.

33 – Stephen Hoare
The sixth most experienced Tiger ever and currently the longest serving player at the club and has played in 303 games of the clubs 311 since joining them in 2001. Has shot over 54% from the field for the 3rd straight year. Scored a season high 22-points against the Wildcats in November.

41 – Bo Westover
Development player who had minimum minutes in 9 games this year and is yet to hit a field goal in his career. His only score to date has been a made free-throw against the Hawks at The Cage.

NBL wrap - round 20

Here are the numbers that matter from round 20 in the NBL:

Tigers 92 Dragons 86

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 26 points, 10 boards, 4 blocks
David Barlow 20 points (including 4 triples), 6 boards
Tommy Greer 7 points, 8 boards

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 25 points, 4 boards, 4 assists
Donta Smith 10 points, 11 boards
Matt Burston 10 points, 11 boards

I was at a friend's place and because the cricket was going so badly for Australia I was able to watch this game in the background chatting with friends. The game was exciting as the Dragons made several runs down the stretch but fell just short. I didn't realise the clips were so bad with the Tigers shooting 40% from the field and the Dragons just 36%. Ebi Ere was 3 of 18, Adam Gibson was 3 of 14 and Dave Thomas went 1 of 7 from the field.

Wildcats 88 Spirit 78

For the Wildcats:

Darnell Hinson 16 points, 6 boards
Peter Crawford 16 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Ben Knight 14 points (7 of 8 from the field), 6 boards

For the Spirit:

Jason Smith 15 points
Matthew Knights 12 points, 7 boards
Damian Martin 9 points, 7 boards

My guess is that the Spirit tried to slow this game down to give themselves the best shot at winning an ugly one (like Cairns do). The Wildcats shot 50% from the field and still only scored 88 points. The teams combined for 44 turnovers (22 each) ... that's how not to look after the ball.

Dragons 101 Breakers 94

For the Dragons:

Matt Burston 17 points, 8 boards
Adam Gibson 16 points (8 of 8 from the line)
Donta Smith 9 points, 7 boards

For the Breakers:

Phill Jones 28 points (including 4 triples), 7 boards
Kirk Penney 17 points, 4 boards (but 7 turnovers)

The Breakers went in to this game having won their last couple against the Dragons so to lose at home was costly. The Dragons basically just outshot the Breakers (58% to 43%) which is essentially beating them at their own the game. Oscar Forman's dry spell continues with just 5 points in this one.

Tigers 113 Hawks 104

For the Tigers:

David Barlow 23 points (7 of 11 from the field), 6 boards, 4 assists
Ebi Ere 23 points
Chris Anstey 11 points, 11 boards

For the Hawks:

Kavossy Franklin 28 points, 5 boards, 5 assists
Anthony Petrie 18 points, 9 boards
Glen Saville 12 points, 11 boards, 6 assists

The Tigers jumped out to an early 9 point lead scoring 37 points in the first quarter and controlled the game from there. Hawks shot 55% from the field but had 19 costly turnovers to the Tigers 11. Both teams shot just under 50% from downtown which is pretty impressive.

36ers 107 Wildcats 92

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 27 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards
Luke Schenscher 18 points, 8 boards, 5 assists
Brett Maher 10 points, 8 boards, 4 assists

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 20 points, 11 boards
Shawn Redhage 18 points, 18 boards, 5 assists
Peter Crawford 7 points, 12 boards, 7 assists

56 fouls called in the game and the teams combined to take 81 shots from the line. Both teams shot 40% or under from the field. Costly loss for the Wildcats. Peter Crawford shot just 1 of 12 from the field. Adam Ballinger is having a stellar season!

Crocs 123 Taipans 92

For the Crocs:

John Rillie 26 points (8 of 9 from the field, 6 of 7 from downtown, 4 of 4 from the line), 7 boards
Russell Hinder 17 points, 11 boards
Daniel Egan 15 points, 5 boards, 3 assists

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 18 points, 8 boards (but 6 turnovers)
Matt Smith 10 points, 12 boards
Darnell Mee 14 points

There was plenty of talk in the media prior to this local derby. It didn't fail to deliver the fireworks with Ian Crosswhite getting ejected inside the first 2 minutes. Click here and here for the recap of the "action". Everyone's favourite NBL blogger John Rillie EXPLODED in the first quarter scoring 21 points and essentially ending the game before it had started. The score at half time was Crocs 71, Taipans 45. The Crocs shot an impressive 16 of 30 from downtown.

Blaze 139 Spirit 119

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 42 points (including 8 triples), 6 boards
Shane Heal 31 points (including 7 triples), 7 assists
Luke Whitehead 18 points, 13 boards

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 35 points (15 of 21 from the field), 5 boards
Blagov Janev 21 points, 7 boards
David Gruber 19 points, 6 boards

When two of the worst teams (no offence Sydney but you've run out of steam) both shoot over 50% from the field and combine for 258 points, you don't have to ask was anyone playing D ... clearly they were not. Only a dream game by fantasy basketball standards as there were some massive stats on both sides. Justin Bowen wasn't far off an ugly quadruple double (if you include turnovers). The Blaze shot an impressive 22 of 39 (56%) from downtown. The Blaze wish they got this sort of production from the duo of Harvey and Heal every night.

At the end of round 20 in the NBL, the Dragons are just 1/2 a game ahead of the Tigers in second who are riding an 8 game winning streak. The Breakers slip to 3rd just ahead of the Crocs and the Wildcats. The Blaze are still at the bottom while the Hawks and the Spirit are on 5 game losing streaks.

Now, the NBL Player of the Week is yet to be named but I'm going to go out on a limb and predict David Barlow will get the nod. He had two very good games in two wins for the Tigers. If not Barlow they'll probably give it to James Harvey for topping the 40 point mark.

Our Vlade Divac Flop of the Week nominations go to Graeme Dann from the Spirit (1 of 8 from the field and 6 turnovers in a loss to the Wildcats), Ebi Ere from the Tigers (3 of 18 from the field in the blockbuster against the Dragons) and Aaron Grabeau from the Taipans (1 of 8 from the field in a loss to the Crocs). The award has to go to inconsistent Taipans bigman Ian Crosswhite for getting ejected within the first two minutes of the game against the Crocs. Without Crosswhite on court its no wonder this game was over so soon.

As always our Shooter of the Week is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. The honourable mentions go to Blaze backcourt Shane Heal and James Harvey for their long-distance shooting display against the Spirit. The pair combined for 73 points and 15 triples but it was a meaningless/nothing game. The winner tho (and you can call me biaised) is our boy John Rillie from the Townsville Crocs for his 21 point offensive explosion in the first quarter against the rival Taipans. JR hopped in the DeLorean and took us back in time for a vintage display of basketball shooting. With the game over in the first half, JR didn't worry about scoring anymore and instead jumped on the boards. His final line for the night was 26 points on 8 of 9 from the field, 6 of 7 from downtown, 4 of 4 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and just 1 turnover. No news whether or not JR wins a CD like he gives away on the OT.

Look at that focus and concentration

NBL wrap - round 19

I hope everyone enjoyed the Australia Day long weekend. That's my excuse for not posting over the last few days.

Here are the numbers that matter from round 19 in the NBL:

36ers 110 Blaze 88

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 28 points, 12 boards
Luke Schenscher 16 points, 10 boards
Brett Maher 17 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 21 points, 19 boards, 8 assists
Justin Bowen 18 points, 7 boards
Scott McGregor 8 points, 7 boards (in just 12 minutes)

The Blaze actually have a good recent record over the 36ers but Adelaide turned up ready to play and took control with a 30 - 13 first quarter. Adelaide shot 55% from the field while the Blaze were just 40%. Shane Heal and James Harvey combined for just 2 of 13 from the field. Luke Whitehead is putting up large, large numbers over the last 6 weeks.

Tigers 103 Breakers 85

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 22 points, 6 boards, 3 steals
Chris Anstey 16 points, 13 boards, 4 assists
Daryl Corletto 15 points (7 of 9 shooting), 4 boards (in just 16 minutes)

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 28 points (12 of 18 shooting), 4 boards
Rick Rickert 15 points, 8 boards
Tony Ronaldson 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

The Tigers dominated the second half 56 - 37 to secure the win. The Breakers got to the free-throw line just 10 times during the game and were an uncharacteristically poor 5 of 17 from downtown. Tigers won the boards 49 to 35. CJ Bruton returned to the bench ... obviously he's nowhere near 100% since coming back from injury.

Wildcats 96 Blaze 90

For the Wildcats:

Alex Loughton 18 points
Shawn Redhage 16 points, 6 boards
Darnell Hinson 15 points, 6 boards, 6 assists

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 20 points, 9 boards, 5 assists
Luke Whitehead 16 points, 15 boards
Pero Cameron 10 points, 9 boards, 7 assists

A good effort from the Blaze to keep this close, but they were well rested after they failed to show up for the 36ers game. Both teams shot just over 40% from the field and struggled from the line but the Wildcats had just FOUR turnovers for the entire game. Ugly final quarter with the teams combining for 25 points total (14 for the Wildcats, 11 for the Blaze).

Tigers 95 Breakers 89

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 20 points, 11 boards, 4 steals, 3 blocks
Ebi Ere 14 points, 6 boards
Nathan Crosswell 14 points (7 of 10 from the field)

For the Breakers:

CJ Bruton 29 points (including 5 triples and 8 of 8 from the line)
Kirk Penney 23 points, 5 boards
Rick Rickert 11 points, 6 boards

These teams matched up twice in the space of 48 hours, once in NZ and once in Melbourne, the Tigers got both wins tho. CJ Bruton back in the starting line-up and back in form. Tigers came from behind in the second half 50 - 38 to get the win. Both teams shot just over 40% but the Tigers had just 11 turnovers to the Breakers 19.

Crocs 97 Hawks 95

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 25 points, 11 boards, 4 assists
Kelvin Robertson 20 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals
Brad Williamson 15 points, 5 boards

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 27 points, 6 boards
Kavossy Franklin 19 points (6 of 9 from the field, 6 of 6 from the line), 8 assists, 5 boards
Glen Saville 17 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals

Crocs come from behind 26 - 16 in the final quarter to get the win thanks to two late buckets from Rosell Ellis. Crocs got the win on the road despite being without leading scorer Corey Williams.

Taipans 89 Spirit 83

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 27 points (11 of 15 from the field), 11 boards, 4 steals
Martin Cattalini 15 points
Aaron Grabeau 11 points, 6 boards

For the Spirit:

Jason Smith 19 points, 7 boards
David Gruber 14 points (6 of 8 from the field), 7 boards
Matthew Knight 14 points, 6 boards, 3 steals

Cairns could've won by a lot more but shot just 20 of 34 from the line and had 25 turnovers. Sydney shot just 38% from the field. MASSIVE game from Crosswhite! Sydney running out of steam at the wrong end of the season.

At the end of round 19, the Dragons are still in first but the Tigers move in to 2nd on a 6 game winning streak. The Breakers fall to 3rd (won 1 of their last 5) and the Crocs are in 4th. Blaze still on the bottom, Hawks are now second last.

Adam Ballinger (our Shooter of the Month in November) was named player of the week thanks to his impressive performance in Adelaide's win against the Blaze. Ballinger had 21 points in the first half to put the game to bed before half-time.

Now to our Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The dishonourable mentions go to Oscar Forman from the Breakers (for scoring just 7 points total in two losses to the Melbourne Tigers) and Blagov Janev of the Spirit (1 of 7 in a loss to the Taipans). The award goes to one time shooter of the week, James Harvey for hitting just 1 of 8 and doing virtually nothing else in 26 minutes of court time in an horrible loss to the 36ers.

And finally, as always our Shooter of the Week is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. The runner up this week goes to CJ Bruton from the Breakers for his 29 points, 8 of 14 from the field, 5 of 10 from deep and 8 of 8 from the line in a loss to the Tigers. The winner of the award is none other than Adam Ballinger (pictured right) for his 28 points, 9 of 14 from the field, 4 of 5 from deep and 6 of 6 from the line, as well as 12 boards in his team's win over the Blaze. Ballinger has continued his hot form in November and is now definitely the focus of the Adelaide attack.

NZ basketball day

With the surprising sight of New Zealand basketballer Sean Marks starting for the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA today (unfortunately for Sean, he wasn't overly active in his 17 minutes of court-time), it seemed like a good opportunity to focus on basketball news from across the ditch.

Click on the titles below to read the full stories ... choice bro

Hornets beat Pacers on Paul's late 3 - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Sean Marks (2 points, 3 rebounds) started for West.


'Money time' for Penney in MVP drive - New Zealand's source for sport, rugby, cricket & league news on Stuff.co.nz
By MARC HINTON - Sunday Star Times

The smart money around the Australian National Basketball League is that by season's end the New Zealand Breakers shooting guard, known rather obviously as KP, will have a new name - MVP.

Kirk Penney, say the pundits, is a short-priced favourite to succeed Melbourne Tigers big man Chris Anstey as the league's premier player. Already the Kiwi has won two of the three player of the month awards up for grabs, and looks unlikely to be pipped in the contest for the season's top individual honour.

Yet if the Breakers don't push on and finish off their groundbreaking NBL season with at least an appearance in the best-of-five final series, the game's highest individual accolade will likely go elsewhere.

MVPs get their team to finals: that's a given.


Breakers ready and waiting for Tigers - New Zealand's source for sport, rugby, cricket & league news on Stuff.co.nz
By MARC HINTON - Fairfax Media

Oscar Forman says the Breakers have nothing to fear against the Melbourne Tigers despite the high stakes of this week's back-to-back matchup against the red-hot defending NBL champions.

The Tigers, who have won four straight games since undergoing a personnel makeover, meet the Breakers at the North Shore Events Centre on Thursday night, then host the Kiwis just 48 hours later in a double-header that has major playoff repercussions.

The Breakers (16-7) are one loss behind the table-topping South Dragons (18-6) and in turn are one better than the advancing Tigers (15-8). With all three teams playing each other over the next week or so, that scenario could change markedly as the regular season hits the business end.

NBL wrap - round 18

Here are the numbers that matter from round 18 in the NBL:

Tigers 99 Spirit 79

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 25 points
David Barlow 20 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals
Chris Anstey 4 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals

For the Spirit:

Jason Smith 18 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards
Matthew Knight 14 points, 11 boards
David Gruber 12 points, 13 boards

With scores tied up at half-time the Tigers dominated the second-half 52 - 32. Sydney had way too many turnovers (22 - 10) and shot just 30% from the field after the main break. Chris Anstey only scored 4 points?? Really??

Breakers 95 Crocs 86

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 28 points, 9 boards
Rick Rickert 19 points, 9 boards
Phull Jones 17 points, 4 boards

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 18 points, 4 boards
Rosell Ellis 12 points, 9 boards
Cameron Tovey 10 points, 10 boards, 4 steals (but 2 of 6 from the line with 5 turnovers)

The Crocs scored just 9 points in the 2nd term (Breakers had 24). It was turnover central in this one, the Crocs had 20 turnovers and only 18 assists while the Breakers had 20 turnovers for 20 assists. CJ Bruton had 8 turnovers ... career high maybe? The two teams combined for just 11 of 43 from deep ... John Rillie was 3 of 7 on his own.

Tigers 116 Blaze 107

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 24 points (including 5 triples), 5 boards, 3 assists
Chris Anstey 22 points, 9 boards
David Barlow 17 points, 5 boards

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 22 points, 9 boards, 4 assists
Justin Bowen 17 points, 8 boards
Shane Heal 17 points (5 triples), 6 assists

Blaze shot an impressive 53% from the field but were by too many turnovers (21 - 8). They were also on the wrong side of the foul count (32 - 21) which resulted in the Tigers getting an extra 16 trips to the line. After a few very quiet games, its good to see Anstey troubling the scorers again.

Taipans 79 36ers 70

For the Taipans:

Darnell Mee 19 points, 6 boards
Ian Crosswhite 12 points, 12 boards, 5 assists
Aaron Grabeau 15 points, 6 boards, 4 assists

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 18 points, 13 boards
Brett Maher 15 points
Brad Hill 10 points, 7 boards

Ugly game with both teams shooting at less than 40% from the field. Like I mentioned last week, this style of game obviously gives the Taipans the best chance of winning. Player of the Week Luke Schenscher gets held to just 7 points. Adelaide score just FIVE points in the 3rd quarter.

Wildcats 114 Spirit 84

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 32 points (11 of 15 from the field), 7 boards
Darnell Hinson 19 points, 7 assists
Peter Crawford 19 points (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown)

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 20 points, 7 boards
Tony Rampton 17 points, 7 boards
David Gruber 11 points, 7 boards

Perth shot an outstanding 62% from the field and 50% from downtown, Sydney were just 37% for both.

Crocs 128 36ers 105

For the Crocs:

Brad Williamson 22 points (8 of 12 from the field including 6 triples)
Corey Williams 20 points
Rosell Ellis 17 points, 9 boards, 5 assists

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 21 points, 9 boards
Brad Hill 20 points, 4 boards
Brett Maher 7 points, 9 assists

Crocs somehow outrebounded the much taller 36ers (50 - 41) and took much better care of the ball (8 turnovers to 19). The turnovers explain why the 36ers shot 58% from the field in the first half and still found themselves down by 18 points.

Tigers 108 Hawks 94

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 36 points (including 7 triples), 6 boards, 4 assists
Chris Anstey 20 points, 9 boards
David Barlow 16 points, 7 boards

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 24 points, 7 boards
Glen Saville 8 points, 12 boards, 7 assists
Kavossy Franklin 18 points, 6 boards

The Tigers dominated the second half 59 - 37 to come from behind to get their 3rd win for the round. They didn't shoot well from the field but were solid from deep (42%) and accurate from the line (85%). The two teams combined for just 20 turnovers for the game.

At the end of round 18, the Dragons are still on top of the NBL ladder with 18 wins followed by the Breakers on 16 and the Tigers on 15 (4 in a row). Blaze still on the bottom with 5 and the Taipans and Hawks in front of them on 9.

I'm in early again so I get to speculate on who will win this week's NBL Player of the Week. I think Shawn Redhage will get an honourable mention for his performance (32 points, 7 boards) in his team's win over the Spirit. The award (in my opinion) tho will go to Ebi Ere from the Melbourne Tigers for leading his team to 3 wins in a row through this round. Ebi scored 25 points against the Spirit, 24 points against the Blaze and saved his best for last with 36 points (on great clips) against the Hawks.

Now, to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. Dishonourable mention goes to the Crocs starting back-court of Michael Cedar and Brad Williamson for their combined 0 of 11 from the field with 5 turnovers in their team's loss to the Breakers. The award this week goes to 36ers duo of Jacob Holmes and Aaron Bruce for their combined 2 of 14 performance from the field in their team's loss to the Taipans and they then backed it up with a combined 4 of 12 from the field and 8 turnovers in a loss to the Crocs.

Our Shooter of the Week as always is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. Runner up this week is Brad Williamson from the Townsville Crocodiles, not for his goose egg against the Breakers but he bounced back (8 of 12 from the field, 6 of 8 from deep) in a win over the 36ers. The Shooter of the Week award goes to Ebi Ere (pictured below) from the Melbourne Tigers for his outstanding weekend but mainly for the show he put on against the Hawks. Ebi was rolling with 36 points, 13 of 19 from the field, 7 of 10 from downtown, 3 of 3 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, zero turnovers. Having watched on during his time with the Bullets, when Ebi is on a roll there's not much the opposition can do but try and keep the ball out of his hands.

NBL wrap - round 14

Here are the numbers that matter from a big round in the NBL:

Tigers 69 Taipans 63

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 19 points, 14 boards
Chris Anstey 18 points, 13 boards

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 16 points, 9 boards
Ian Crosswhite 10 points, 9 boards

This is the lowest scoring game in NBL history and both teams shot under 35% from the field ... ugly. Both teams around 20% from downtown. Ian Crosswhite was the only player in the game to shoot 50% (or better) from the field. The less said about this one the better.

Blaze 91 Hawks 88

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 37 points (including 8 triples), 5 boards
Luke Whitehead 20 points, 14 boards
Justin Bowen 15 points, 4 boards, 3 steals

For the Hawks:

Anthony Petrie 21 points, 5 boards
Dusty Rychart 16 points, 9 boards
Glen Saville 12 points, 13 boards, 4 assists

No Heal, no problems for the Blaze. Harvey shoots a red-hot 8 of 13 from downtown. Harvey's 37 points is the most by a Blaze.

Breakers 114 Spirit 70

For the Breakers:

Phull Jones 24 points, 3 boards, 3 assists
Kirk Penney 19 points, 8 boards
Tony Ronaldson 18 points, 7 boards, 4 assists

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 14 points, 6 boards
Jason Smith 14 points, 5 assists

Breakers smashed the Spirit in the second half 68 - 29. Breakers hit 14 of 25 from downtown while the Spirit made just 2 of 21. Spirit shot less than 30% from the field.

Breakers 118 Wildcats 94

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 32 points (including 6 triples)
Tony Ronaldson 31 points (including 4 triples)
Rick Rickert 20 points, 7 boards

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 30 points (8 of 10 from the field, 12 of 12 from the line), 7 boards
Peter Crawford 29 points (including 7 triples)
Darnell Hinson 12 points, 8 assists, 6 boards

The Breakers again smashed up the second half 67 - 33 and held Perth to just 9 points in the 3rd term. The teams combined to shoot 29 of 65 from downtown and the Wildcats shot an un-Perth like 20 of 21 from the line.

36ers 107 Blaze 104

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 31 points, 10 assists, 4 boards
Adam Ballinger 22 points, 12 boards
Luke Schenscher 16 points, 8 boards

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 23 points (including 4 triples)
Daniel Joyce 22 points (including 4 triples), 4 boards
Luke Whitehead 14 points, 15 boards, 6 assists

Sixers come from behind at home to get the win. Again, no Heal for the Blaze and they almost win the game. Both teams shot just 60% from the free-throw line.

Tigers 128 Hawks 101

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 28 points (10 of 13 from the field, including 8 triples), 4 boards
Daryl Corletto 17 points, 7 boards
Chris Anstey 12 points, 9 boards

For the Hawks:

Glen Saville 25 points (including 4 triples), 4 boards
Kavossy Franklin 20 points, 7 boards
Cameron Tragardh 19 points

Tigers shoot a solid 14 of 29 from downtown and dominate the boards 49 - 27. Hawks slip-sliding away and have now lost 8 straight.

Dragons 88 Crocs 84

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 22 points, 10 boards, 4 assists
Tremell Darden 16 points, 7 assists
Joe Ingles 17 points

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 27 points, 11 boards
Rosell Ellis 10 points, 12 boards

Crocs led by 8 after the first quarter but lost the next 3. Townsville shot just 13 of 22 from the line. I'm not sure what is more surprising, Corey Williams hit a 3 pointer or that he attempted 3 of them.

Spirit 101 Crocs 90

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 22 points, 11 boards
Jason Smith 20 points (including 6 triples), 8 boards, 4 assists
David Gruber 12 points, 5 boards, 4 blocks

For the Crocs:

Michael Cedar 27 points (including 7 triples)
Cameron Tovey 8 points, 9 boards, 3 blocks
Daniel Egan 13 points, 4 boards

Tough for the Crocs to back-up after the close loss to the Dragons the night before. Sydney dominated the boards 54 to 35. The teams combined for 42 turnovers. If Michael Cedar keeps this up he will be hard pushed not to win most improved player.

After round 14 in the NBL, the Dragons are still number 1, 1/2 a game ahead of the Breakers. The Tigers are in 3rd with Perth and Townsville tied in 4th. Blaze are still bottom with 4 wins and the Hawks have dropped 8 in a row and are 2nd last.

Player of the Week was announced earlier today as "The Bear", Tony Ronaldson from the Breakers. He averaged 24.5 points, 5 boards and 3.5 assists in two big wins for NZ. He shot 53% from the field and 55% from downtown. Runners up were apparently Julius Hodge and James Harvey.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. Dishonourable mentions go to Rod Grizzard from the Tigers (for shooting 1 of 7 against the Taipans), Dwayne Vale from Cairns (for shooting 1 of 7 from the field and 0 of 2 from the line against the Tigers) and Kelvin Robertson from the Crocs (for shooting 0 of 6 against the Dragons). The award however goes to funny-man Russell Hinder from the Crocs for his 1 of 7 from the field, 3 of 6 from the line and 6 turnovers in his return to Sydney. "That's what I do!"

Finally, our Shooter of the Week brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. There were a number of outstanding shooting performances this week:
* Peter Crawford (Perth) for his 29 points including 7 triples
* Shawn Redhage (Perth) for his 30 points, 8 of 10 from the field, 2 of 3 from downtown and 12 of 12 from downtown
* Ebi Ere (Melbourne) for his 28 points, 10 of 13 from the field, 8 of 10 from downtown
* Michael Cedar (Townsville) 27 points including 7 triples
The winner tho is James Harvey (pictured below) from the Gold Coast Blaze for leading his team to a very rare win against the Hawks with 37 points including 8 of 13 from downtown. He also had 23 points with 4 triples in their narrow loss to Adelaide.

New Zealand Pair Sweep NBL Monthly Awards

Its just been announced that one of our favourites here, Kirk Penney has again taken out Player of the Month in the NBL. Kirk also won the previous month's award but is this time joined by his Breaker's coach Andrej Lemanis who won Coach of the Month.

As I'm still on the NBL's media list, I was able to vote. Surprisingly, I didn't actually vote for Kirk ... here is who I gave the points to:

3 votes: Ballinger (Adelaide)
2 votes: Anstey (Tigers)
1 vote: Matthew Knight (Sydney)

And for the coaches:

3 votes: Lemanis (NZ)
2 votes: Beveridge (Sydney)
1 vote: Goorjian (Dragons)

Click on the title below to read the full story about why the Kiwis won and who else received votes. I'm SHOCKED to see that I was the only one that gave any points to Anstey. His fg% wasn't great but the rest of his numbers were stellar ... I guess the rest of the league takes his numbers for granted.

NBL > News

New Zealand Pair Sweep NBL Monthly Awards

New Zealand Breakers shooting star Kirk Penney has won his second consecutive National Basketball League (NBL) Player of the Month award, while Breakers mentor Andrej Lemanis has taken out the Coach of the Month honour for November.

In seven games for the month of November, Penney averaged 20.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The former NBA player shot the ball at 42% from the field and 42% from three-point range, while connecting on 78% of his free-throw attempts.

Most importantly, Penney led his team to a league-best 6-1 record for the month as the Breakers established themselves as a legitimate title contender in the NBL. Penney has also firmly established himself as an early favourite to take out the Andrew Gaze Trophy for the NBL’s Most Valuable Player at the end of the season.

Penney polled a total of 48 votes to take out the award from Sydney Spirit big man Matt Knight on 39. Adelaide duo Adam Ballinger (38) and Julius Hodge (33) finished third and fourth respectively. In all 14 players received votes for the November award.

NBL Player of the week

Thanks to my early NBL wrap yesterday, I had a chance to make my prediction for Player of the Week but boy was I wrong ... apparently. Matthew Knight (pictured below) gets the official nod and Phull Jones (see yesterday's report as to why he is now Phull) wasn't even in the top 4 or 5 possibilities. First Goorjian's Dragons go easy on the troubled Sydney Spirit and now the head office does the same.

Obviously the NBL don't place the same importance on a player's team winning as much as John Rillie and perhaps I do. Sure, Knight had a good game and definitely should be in contention but runner-up Anstey went 1 win out of 2 on the weekend (and shot less than 40% from the field), Heal did play well in the first half against the Breakers but his team got DONE and Ebi also only won 1 of 2.

Phull's team on the other hand won both their games, went to top of the league ladder and he shot the lights out in both matches. Sorry Phull, the league must be tired of the award heading over the ditch this season.

NBL > News

Knight named Round 11's best

The National Basketball League has named Sydney Spirit star forward Matthew Knight as Player of the Week for Round 11 after leading his in team to a stunning upset victory against the South Dragons.

Knight and his Spirit teammates put a week of off-court turmoil behind them to score a thrilling 104-93 win over the previously top-of-the-table Dragons. Knight scored a double-double with a career high 27 points and eleven rebounds, as well as dishing off two assists at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre on Friday night.

The Tasmanian was the leading scorer in the game, making 83% of his free throws (5-of-6) and 61% of his overall shots from the field (11-of-18) despite suffering an ankle injury. Knight becomes the first Spirit to win the Player of the Week award this season.

Melbourne Tigers behemoth Chris Anstey was narrowly edged for the NBL’s weekly honour by Knight. Anstey averaged 20.0 points, 15.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and one steal in two games against the Townsville Crocodiles and the Perth Wildcats for the week.

Another leading contender for Player of the Week was Gold Coast Blaze’s Shane Heal, who scored 27 points as well as having five rebounds, and five assists against the New Zealand Breakers.

Others in consideration for Player of the Week included Ebi Ere (Melbourne), Phill Jones (New Zealand), Oscar Forman (New Zealand), Adam Ballinger (Adelaide), Brett Maher (Adelaide), Julius Hodge (Adelaide), Cameron Tragardh (Wollongong), Isiah Victor (Perth), Martin Cattalini (Cairns), Corey Williams (Townsville), Rosell Ellis (Townsville) and John Rillie (Townsville).

NBL wrap - round 11

A big week in the NBL with 8 games (after only 6 last week), here are the numbers that matter:

Crocs 113 Tigers 105 (in OT)

For the Crocs:

Michael Cedar 27 points (9 of 14 from the field, including 7 triples), 7 boards
John Rillie 24 points (including 6 triples), 5 boards
Rosell Ellis 22 points, 11 boards

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 31 points (including 5 triples)
Chris Anstey 19 points, 16 boards
Rod Gizzard 19 points, 9 boards

This would've been a great game to see. Ebi Ere hitting a triple to push the game in to overtime. Michael Cedar exploding offensively as we said he would and JR coming off the bench and shooting the lights out. Somehow the Crocs managed to keep up with the Tigers on the boards (52 - 52). The Crocs could've ended it in regulation but shot just 10 of 21 from the free-throw line.

Dragons 102 Taipans 64

For the Dragons:

Matt Burston 19 points (9 of 10 from the field), 8 boards
Nick Horvath 12 points, 11 boards
Joe Ingles 12 points, 7 assists ... 6 turnovers

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 17 points
Larry Abney 15 points, 8 boards

No Dave Thomas (he went down injured after 7 mins), no chance. If this was a boxing match they would've let Alan Black throw in the towel, unfortunately it was not. Dragons shot 57% from the field, Taipans shot 29%.

Breakers 108 Wildcats 94

For the Breakers:

CJ Bruton 22 points, 7 assists
Phill Jones 22 points (including 5 triples)
Rick Rickert 17 points, 13 boards

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 25 points
Darnell Hinson 18 points, 4 assists
Ben Knight 15 points, 6 boards

Breakers dominated the second half (61 - 39) to come from behind to win this game. NZ controlled the boards 51 - 36 and the two teams combined for a red-hot 25 of 49 from downtown. Kirk Penney and Shawn Redhage showed they are human, both superstars scoring less than 10 points each.

Tigers 108 Wildcats 95

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 21 points, 15 boards, 4 assists
Ebi Ere 23 points
Stephen Hoare 22 points, 5 boards

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 20 points, 5 boards
Peter Crawford 17 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Shawn Redhage 12 points, 6 assists

Very balanced team effort from the Tigers with 6 of their 8 man rotation scoring in double figures. Foul count and free-throws both went considerably in the Tigers favour. Shawn Redhage controlled again, Wildcats lose again ... you do the math.

36ers 101 Hawks 96

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 26 points, 8 boards
Brett Maher 21 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards
Julius Hodge 19 points, 11 boards, 6 assists
Luke Schenscher 18 points, 10 boards

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 23 points (11 of 15 from the field), 5 boards
Larry Davidson 13 points, 7 boards
Glen Saville 16 points, 10 boards

Close game throughout. Hawks shot just 3 of 21 from the field and 13 of 23 from the line. Adelaide's big 4 all fired, except for Hodge from the field (just 8 of 26 shooting). Aaron Bruce ... MIA.

Crocs 94 Taipans 90

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 24 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals
Rosell Ellis 14 points, 10 boards
John Rillie 16 points (14 in the final quarter)

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 25 points, 8 boards
Ian Crosswhite 17 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks
Gary Boodnikoff 16 points, 5 boards

Townsville got off to a slow start (18 - 26) but stormed home in the final quarter behind 14 from JR to get the win. Without Dave Thomas it shouldn't have been this close but Ian Crosswhite stepped in and filled DT's shoes. Brad Williamson seems to be struggling to find form since getting promoted to the starting line-up for the Crocs.

Spirit 103 Dragons 94

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 27 points, 11 boards
Luke Martin 13 points, 5 assists
Drew Williamson 12 points, 5 boards

For the Dragons:

Adam Gibson 15 points, 10 boards, 6 assists
Matt Burston 17 points, 9 boards
Mark Worthington 15 points, 7 boards

How the Spirit win without Low or Khazzouh ... I don't know?! Who said Goorjian doesn't have a heart?? Gibbo with his best game this season but the Dragons shoot just 19 of 37 from the free-throw line thanks to 2 of 10 from Mika Vukona. In a game that almost didn't go ahead, the Spirit had a season high 2572 fans in attendance.

Breakers 110 Blaze 88

For the Breakers:

Tony Ronaldson 25 points, 5 assists
Phill Jones 23 points (including 7 triples)
Oscar Forman 15 points, 9 boards

For the Blaze:

Shane Heal 27 points, 5 boards, 5 assists
Justin Bowen 17 points, 8 boards ... 6 turnovers
Daniel Joyce 16 points

Shane Heal and Ronaldson were on fire early and the teams were tied at the end of the first quarter. From there it was all down-hill for the Blaze. The Breakers didn't even play well but they still won this EASILY.

After round 11 in the NBL, the Breakers are now on top of the league one win ahead of the Dragons (thanks to their sympathetic loss to the Spirit). Tigers move in to third and after 2 straight losses the Wildcats are in 4th. The Blaze are still at the bottom with just 2 wins and the Taipans have now lost 6 in a row to be second last.

I'm in early this week so the NBL's Player of the Week is yet to officially be announced. My pick goes to Phill Jones ... see below for more details.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the week. Runner-up should go to Mika Vukona for his 2 of 10 shooting from the free-throw line against the Spirit. Mika is all-hussle and has never been known for his shooting but 2 of 10?? But the Flop of the week goes to that man Cameron Tovey from the Crocs ... AGAIN. In his game against the Tigers he shot 2 of 10 from the field and 0 of 2 from the line and then followed that up with 1 of 8 from the field and 1 of 6 from the line against the Taipans. Trevor Gleeson, its time to send the kid back to the bench!

Before we get to our Shooter of the Week ... a few honourable mentions must go to a pair of Crocodiles. Michael Cedar for his individual explosion against the Tigers and John "Don't call it a comeback!" Rillie for both his games on the weekend, especially the clutch/game-winning 4th quarter shooting against the Taipans. But this week's winner is none other than Phill (from now on to be referred to as Phull, thanks to JVG and Nick) Jones from the Breakers. In his team's two wins he averaged 22.5 points and 6 triples and shot over 50% from the field with ZERO turnovers!

NBL wrap - round 10

Only 6 games on tap over the last week in the NBL, here are the numbers that matter:

Tigers 99 Taipans 98

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 22 points, 5 boards
Chris Anstey 17 points, 11 boards, 3 blocks
Sam Mackinnon 10 points, 7 boards, 7 assists

For the Taipans:

Dave Thomas 20 points, 8 boards, 4 assists
Martin Cattalini 18 points, 5 boards
Larry Abney 20 points

The Tigers only beat the Taipans by one point?! The Snakes must have played out of their skins (pun only partially intended). Dave Thomas with a beat of old-team rule production. Tigers dominated the boards 49 - 32 but the Taipans were a very efficient 18 of 21 from the free-throw line.

Breakers 112 Dragons 98

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 27 points (including 6 triples)
CJ Bruton 20 points (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 5 from the line), 6 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals
Oscar Forman 12 points, 13 boards

For the Dragons:

Adam Gibson 16 points (including 4 triples), 3 assists
Matt Burston 14 points, 4 boards
Joe Ingles 16 points, 4 assists

The "blockbuster" didn't pan out as such as the Breakers just outplayed the Dragons. All of the Breaker's players put up good numbers while Worthington, Groves and Darden were well contained. In a very efficient game there were only 15 turnovers between the two teams.

Spirit 110 36ers 108

For the Spirit:

Derrick Low 24 points (including 5 triples) but 7 turnovers
Matthew Knight 19 points, 11 boards
Julian Khazzouh 12 points, 16 boards, 2 blocks, 2 steals

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 26 points, 13 boards, 4 assists
Adam Ballinger 29 points, 3 assists
Luke Schenscher 16 points, 17 boards, 4 assists, 4 blocks

The Sixers got off to a great start but the Spirit came from behind 59 - 45 in the second half to get the win. Looking at the numbers this would have been an entertaining game to watch. There was even a David Gruber sighting as he had 19 points, 7 boards (possibly his most productive game so far). Julius Hodge seems to LOVE playing for the Sixers and was outstanding in his first game back this season. With Hodge back, Jacob Holmes returns to the bench where he belongs.

Dragons 106 36ers 100

For the Dragons:

Joe Ingles 27 points (including 5 triples), 4 assists
Adam Gibson 15 points, 4 boards, 3 assists
Mark Worthington 14 points, 12 boards

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 27 points, 8 boards, 8 assists
Adam Ballinger 29 points, 7 boards

The Dragons bounced back well after losing to the Breakers. Hodge does what he does ... dominates. Herbert explodes off the bench for the Dragons with 21 points while Matt Burston and Luke Schenscher looked to have nullified each other.

Crocodiles 121 Hawks 113

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 25 points, 5 assists
Rosell Ellis 14 points, 7 assists, 6 boards, 3 steals
Daniel Egan 21 points (9 of 11 from the field), 7 boards

For the Hawks:

Glen Saville 28 points, 6 boards, 4 assists
Cameron Tragardh 14 points, 7 boards
Kavossy Franklin 15 points, 4 boards

The game was a shootout from downtown with the teams combining for an impressive 25 of 54 from deep. The controversial benching of JR, Homicide and Hinder looks to have had the desired result with the Crocs flying out of the gates in the first quarter. Tovey seems to have loved the opportunity to start putting up 20 points on a good clip.

Wildcats 101 Taipans 85

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 22 points (8 of 10 from the field), 6 boards
Isiah Victor 18 points, 11 boards
Ben Knight 9 points, 13 boards

For the Taipans:

Larry Abney 20 points, 10 boards
Martin Cattalini 12 points, 10 boards

Redhage back to his efficient best. Perth controlled the game and one every quarter. Perth are quietly going about their business and putting together a solid season. They're definitely in the top 4 teams for mine.

At the end of round 10, despite losing to the Breakers, the Dragons are still on top of the NBL ladder albeit just on percentage now. The Breakers are just 3.5% points behind in second with the Tigers in 3rd. The Blaze are still last with 2 wins and the Sixers are now 2nd last with 5 wins 9 losses.

Not surprisingly, in news today Julius Hodge was named Player of the Week for his outstanding 2 games in his return to the league. The Sixers didn't get a win in either game but look for them to move up the ladder with Hodge back and look for Hodge to have a triple-double in the next few games.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flops of the week. The runner-up goes to one time Shooter of the Week, Gary Boodnikoff for essentially not showing up for the game against the Wildcats. In 21 minutes he went 0 of 3 from the field, had 1 board, 1 steal and 1 turnover ... not very productive! The award this week however goes to Matt Burston for his 1 of 7 from the field, 1 of 4 from the line and 5 foul "effort" against the 36ers.

Our Shooter of the Week goes to none other than our current man-crush, Kirk Penney. To be a truly good shooter you have to come through in the big games and with their reputation on the line in the blockbuster against the Dragons, Kirk delivered for the Breakers. He had a game-high 27 points including a very nice 6 of 10 from downtown, 3 of 3 from the line and zero turnovers. Fittingly, Kirk is the first NBL player to win our Shooter of the Week award twice in a season.

NBL wrap - round 8

I just noticed its been 6 days since I posted last ... yes, I'm in shock too! I have a good excuse tho ... I was actually out of the office from Thursday for a wedding/long-weekend in Byron. So no laptop and I didn't get back until Sunday and work has been flat-out this week.

Anyway, enough of the excuses, let's wrap up the numbers that matter from Round 8 in the NBL:

Blaze 115 Crocs 106

For the Blaze:

Shane Heal 26 points (including 6 triples), 7 assists, 7 turnovers
Luke Whitehead 19 points, 10 boards

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 23 points, 8 boards, 4 steals
Russell Hinder 18 points, 9 boards, 4 blocks
John Rillie is the devil!! 6 points, 6 boards, 6 assists ... SPOOKY

Congratulations to the Blaze on their first win, it had to happen eventually, its unfortunate the Crocs were the victim. The Crocs came out of the blocks SLOW and were down by 27 at the half. They charged home in the second half but it was too little too late. JR only had 6 shots in 34 minutes ... get him the ball people! B-Rad even jacked up 11 in his 16 minutes. Townsville shot a horrific 20 of 40 from the free-throw line and that was with Kelvin Robertson hitting 8 of 9.

36ers 96 Breakers 86

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 22 points, 9 boards
Mark Tyndale 21 points, 9 boards, 4 assists
Luke Schenscher 20 points ... not much else

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 24 points (an unfortunate 7 off 22 from the field), 10 boards, 6 assists
Tony Ronaldson 23 points, 6 assists

With no CJ Bruton and no Phil Jones ... even the 36ers can beat the Breakers. Penney tried his best but had an off night from the field while the 36ers dominated the boards 51 to 38.

Tigers 98 Spirit 80

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 20 points, 17 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
Rod Gizzard 14 points, 7 boards but 7 turnovers
David Barlow 16 points, 4 boards

For the Spirit:

Julian Khazzouh 16 points, 5 boards
Matthew Knight 12 points, 10 boards
Liam Rush 14 points, 5 boards

The game was close early but the Tigers dominated the second half 54 - 36. Is David Gruber really an import playing just 15 - 20 minutes a game??

Taipans 71 36ers 70

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 16 points, 8 boards
Aaron Grabau 17 points

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 17 points, 12 boards
Jacob 15 points, 6 boards
Luke Schenscher 11 points, 9 boards

The Taipans won the game despite shooting just 33% from the field (36ers were 38%) ... UGLY! The 36ers lost the game at the line hitting just 13 of 23 and were just 3 of 17 from downtown.

Wildcats 115 Crocs 78

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 18 points, 9 boards
Isiah Victor 15 points, 6 boards

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 17 points, 5 boards
Cameron Tovey 14 points, 6 boards

I can only assume the Crocs were shattered from their loss to the lowly Blaze. The score at half-time was 60 - 32 ... ouch! Perth exposed the vertically-challenged Crocs winning the boards 59 - 35. Not a good weekend for Townsville fans.

Breakers 86 Tigers 84

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 25 points (including 4 triples)
Tony Ronaldson 13 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
Oscar Forman 12 points, 9 boards

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 19 points, 11 boards
Sam Mackinnon 12 points, 11 boards, 4 assists

CJ back in the line-up for the Breakers and despite losing to the 36ers they turn it around to knock off the Tigers. Bruton obviously helps Penney get better looks (than Henare) with a much improved shooting performance in this game. Ebi was just 2 of 11 from the field and Barlow was 0 of 7.

Dragons 95 Blaze 83

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 18 points, 8 boards, 5 steals
Matt Burston 11 points, 10 boards

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 26 points, 8 boards
Shane Heal 13 points, 5 boards

The Blaze started the game well after their win against the Crocs but lost every quarter after that. A nice introduction to the NBL for new-import Justin Bowen.

After Round 7, the Dragons continue to lead the league with 9 games 2 losses. One game behind are the Breakers and one behind them are the Tigers. Despite their first win of the season, the Blaze are still on the bottom of the ladder 3 games behind the Spirit.

Announced yesterday was that one of our favourites, Kirk Penney was named Player of the Week. Its not as prestigous as our Shooter of the Month award but I'm sure Kirk was pleased all the same. Penney is the first player this season to win the award for a second time and had averages over the 2 games of 24.5 points, 7 boards and 3.5 assists.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flops of the week. The runners-up are the Townsville Crocodiles for being the first team to lose to the Blaze and then getting spanked by the Wildcats and Kelvin Robertson (from the Crocs) for shooting 1 of 9 in the Perth loss. But the winner this week is almost everybody's pick for Rookie of the Year, Aaron Bruce of Adelaide for his woeful game against the Taipans. Bruce was 0 of 9 from the field with 5 turnovers ... the only positive for him was the 8 assists.

Shooter of the Week goes to Shane Heal (below) of the Blaze for his 26 points including 6 triples that led his team to their first victory of the season. Love him or hate him (and most choose to hate him), he still demands attention from opposing defenders.