MEDIA RELEASE
9 August 2013
NBL ANNOUNCE 2013/14 SCHEDULE
The National Basketball League is pleased to announce the full schedule for the 2013/14 season which will commence on 10 October 2013 with the final games of the regular season being played on 23 March 2014.
There will once again be eight teams competing, which includes the new community-owned Townsville Crocodiles.
Each team will play a total of 28 games over 23 weeks with the top four teams to contest the NBL Finals in March and April.
Dates and venues for the finals will be confirmed following the final round of the regular season.
The 2013/14 NBL Season tips-off with three-time defending champions, New Zealand Breakers raising their championship banner and also retiring Dillon Boucher’s singlet on opening night when they take on the Wollongong Hawks at Vector Area in Auckland.
On the Friday night of opening weekend, two new coaches go head-to-head when Trevor Gleeson’s Perth Wildcats take on Joey Wright’s Adelaide 36ers at Perth Arena.
This will be the first of 10 Friday night games in The Jungle for the ‘Cats who last season averaged crowds of more than 11,000.
Round one continues on Saturday night with the first Reptile Rumble of the season as the Cairns Taipans take on the Crocodiles, under the guidance of new coach Shawn Dennis in Townsville.
The first round of the season closes out on Sunday afternoon with a huge match-up between the Sydney Kings and their capital city rivals the Melbourne Tigers.
This game will celebrate the Kings' 25th season in the league, with past legends tipped to make an appearance at the game that will also signal the return of Mark Worthington to Melbourne and the debut of AJ Ogilvy in the gold and purple.
Round three will see the 2013 Grand Final re-match at what will be a packed North Shore Events Centre when New Zealand play host to Perth on Thursday 24 October.
In a tough road double, the Wildcats will then have to fly to Sydney to play the Kings on Sunday, which will also mark their 1000th game in the NBL since being established in 1982.
The 2014 NBL Finals Series will once again see the top four teams face off in a best-of-three series commencing on Friday 28 March, with the best-of-three Grand Final Series expected to conclude in mid-April.
Games will once again be broadcast on both free-to-air television as well as live and on demand on PC, iPhone or iPad via NBL.TV (TV games and tip-off times will be announced shortly).
Click here to see the full list of fixtures for the 2013/14 season.
Showing posts with label Mark Worthington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mark Worthington. Show all posts
Friday, August 9, 2013
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Blaze vs Crocs
I was lucky enough to have one of my friends (thanks Nick!) hook me up with a ticket to the Gold Coast Blaze's home-opener on Sunday. I've got a friend's 40th coming up at Hyatt Coolum so I planned a quiet one this weekend and the Blaze game was the highlight. The first live game of the NBL season is always a highlight and after some major changes to the lineup, it was going to be interesting to see how the team looked.
The "look" was answered pretty quickly when Gold Coast found themselves down double-digits early in the game. Another friend who was at the game text me saying, "Worst game ever" as the Blaze found themselves down by 22 points in the 3rd quarter.
Just before it seemed that the home crowd were about to give up, the Blaze finally started to make some shots and they started to show some life. Sparked by Chris Goulding off the bench and solid play from Anthony Petrie, the Blaze started to work their way back in to the game. Superstar Mark Worthington also found his range and there was still hope.
Each time Gold Coast looked like it would cut the margin back to single figures, Townsville would immediately answer to keep them at bay. With just over 2 minutes in the game, Townsville led by 12 and I figured there just wasn't enough time left for them to really have a chance. A couple of turnovers from the Crocs and a couple of triples from the Blaze and the game was well and truly on. Miraculously the Blaze hit tough shot after tough shot and tied the game with 18 seconds to go.
It was here where the game turned on its head. Crocs point guard, ex-Detroit Piston, Will Blalock wound down the clock at the top of the key before driving left and putting up a tough runner. It missed and the last few seconds players were scrapping for the ball without anyone gaining control. Just as time expired the baseline ref blew a foul in favour of the Crocs and it looked like Gabe Freeman would step to the line to win the game. The Crocs celebrated but the Blaze were saying that time had expired and the whistle was blown after the buzzer. Head referee Scott Butler conferred with the scorer's bench and after much discussion ruled that time had expired and we were going to overtime.
Not surprisingly, Trevor Gleeson (Crocs coach) and the Townsville bench exploded at the decision. I'm not impartial, but considering the way the game played out in the final quarter, it would have been a terrible injustice to have the game decided on a scrappy play in the final milliseconds.
History now shows that the Blaze continued the momentum in to extra-time and got the win 94-90.
For the Blaze:
Worthington had 26 points (on 8 of 12 from the field), 6 boards
Petrie had 17 points (on 7 of 9 from the field), 9 boards
Harvey had 13 points, 8 boards
For the Crocs:
Blalock had 18 points
Cedar had 17 points with 5 triples
Freeman had 14 points, 7 boards
My notes from the game:
* Disappointing crowd numbers but that can be put down to the V8's, first game of the season, Sunday afternoon time-slot, etc
* Blaze are yet to secure a naming rights sponsor (they didn't have one last season either)
* Blaze were awful from the free-throw line (21 of 35) and need to work on this
* Blaze playing with one import, James Maye, and he'll have to do a LOT of work to survive the next month
* Blaze will take time to gel but showed in the final quarter that they should be ok
* Crocs have a good, deep team and they just had a rough weekend on the road
The "look" was answered pretty quickly when Gold Coast found themselves down double-digits early in the game. Another friend who was at the game text me saying, "Worst game ever" as the Blaze found themselves down by 22 points in the 3rd quarter.
Just before it seemed that the home crowd were about to give up, the Blaze finally started to make some shots and they started to show some life. Sparked by Chris Goulding off the bench and solid play from Anthony Petrie, the Blaze started to work their way back in to the game. Superstar Mark Worthington also found his range and there was still hope.
Each time Gold Coast looked like it would cut the margin back to single figures, Townsville would immediately answer to keep them at bay. With just over 2 minutes in the game, Townsville led by 12 and I figured there just wasn't enough time left for them to really have a chance. A couple of turnovers from the Crocs and a couple of triples from the Blaze and the game was well and truly on. Miraculously the Blaze hit tough shot after tough shot and tied the game with 18 seconds to go.
It was here where the game turned on its head. Crocs point guard, ex-Detroit Piston, Will Blalock wound down the clock at the top of the key before driving left and putting up a tough runner. It missed and the last few seconds players were scrapping for the ball without anyone gaining control. Just as time expired the baseline ref blew a foul in favour of the Crocs and it looked like Gabe Freeman would step to the line to win the game. The Crocs celebrated but the Blaze were saying that time had expired and the whistle was blown after the buzzer. Head referee Scott Butler conferred with the scorer's bench and after much discussion ruled that time had expired and we were going to overtime.
Not surprisingly, Trevor Gleeson (Crocs coach) and the Townsville bench exploded at the decision. I'm not impartial, but considering the way the game played out in the final quarter, it would have been a terrible injustice to have the game decided on a scrappy play in the final milliseconds.
History now shows that the Blaze continued the momentum in to extra-time and got the win 94-90.
For the Blaze:
Worthington had 26 points (on 8 of 12 from the field), 6 boards
Petrie had 17 points (on 7 of 9 from the field), 9 boards
Harvey had 13 points, 8 boards
For the Crocs:
Blalock had 18 points
Cedar had 17 points with 5 triples
Freeman had 14 points, 7 boards
My notes from the game:
* Disappointing crowd numbers but that can be put down to the V8's, first game of the season, Sunday afternoon time-slot, etc
* Blaze are yet to secure a naming rights sponsor (they didn't have one last season either)
* Blaze were awful from the free-throw line (21 of 35) and need to work on this
* Blaze playing with one import, James Maye, and he'll have to do a LOT of work to survive the next month
* Blaze will take time to gel but showed in the final quarter that they should be ok
* Crocs have a good, deep team and they just had a rough weekend on the road
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Two days to go ...
For a basketball fan like myself, its two days until (my) Christmas!!
Not only does the NBL season get underway on Friday night but our fantasy NBA league has its draft at 11pm on the same night. Basketball overload on the way!
Draft night has been one of the highlights of the calendar for the last couple of years for me. Half our league gets together for dinner and drinks first, a lot of crap is talked and then after a few too many beers, its time to select your team.
I did a mock draft or two last week in preparation, but tomorrow night I'll be doing some more serious research in to team depth charts and potential sleepers.
As for the NBL season, with still no Brisbane Bullets in the league, I'll be supporting the Gold Coast Blaze. Its been a rough pre-season for the Blaze so far with a couple of very sub-par performances, sending an import home already (Bennett Davison) and the season-ending injury to star-signing Mark Worthington.
It'll likely be a slow start to the season for the Blaze, but hopefully they come together and find some form like last year and can finish in the top 4.
Not only does the NBL season get underway on Friday night but our fantasy NBA league has its draft at 11pm on the same night. Basketball overload on the way!
Draft night has been one of the highlights of the calendar for the last couple of years for me. Half our league gets together for dinner and drinks first, a lot of crap is talked and then after a few too many beers, its time to select your team.
I did a mock draft or two last week in preparation, but tomorrow night I'll be doing some more serious research in to team depth charts and potential sleepers.
As for the NBL season, with still no Brisbane Bullets in the league, I'll be supporting the Gold Coast Blaze. Its been a rough pre-season for the Blaze so far with a couple of very sub-par performances, sending an import home already (Bennett Davison) and the season-ending injury to star-signing Mark Worthington.
It'll likely be a slow start to the season for the Blaze, but hopefully they come together and find some form like last year and can finish in the top 4.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Mark Worthington's blog
With it looking like John Rillie's NBL playing career has come to an end, stepping in to fill his shoes as the unofficial current blogging player is Mark Worthington from the Melbourne Tigers (formerly of the Dragons, formerly of the Kings).
I've mentioned in this blog a number of times, "Wortho" is one of my least favourite players. Being a part of the Brisbane Bullets, its my job to hate the Sydney Kings and Worthington was a big part of their team before they disappeared. Don't get me wrong, the guy can play, I know that and I respect his talent ... but it doesn't mean I have to like him (on-court). He even mentions it on the profile of his blog: "I'm a basketballer, many look at me as a villain, to my friends i'm just the guy who likes too hang with my mates, drink beers and get white line fever when i step on the basketball court. Im a gemini there are definately two sides to me. Love me or Hate me. It's okay, you're all welcome here"
He's started off strongly with his all-time top 5 for each team and hopefully his blogging frequency continues during the season. His second post was certainly open and honest about his previous two teams and the situation with them both. Click here to check out his blog.
I've mentioned in this blog a number of times, "Wortho" is one of my least favourite players. Being a part of the Brisbane Bullets, its my job to hate the Sydney Kings and Worthington was a big part of their team before they disappeared. Don't get me wrong, the guy can play, I know that and I respect his talent ... but it doesn't mean I have to like him (on-court). He even mentions it on the profile of his blog: "I'm a basketballer, many look at me as a villain, to my friends i'm just the guy who likes too hang with my mates, drink beers and get white line fever when i step on the basketball court. Im a gemini there are definately two sides to me. Love me or Hate me. It's okay, you're all welcome here"
He's started off strongly with his all-time top 5 for each team and hopefully his blogging frequency continues during the season. His second post was certainly open and honest about his previous two teams and the situation with them both. Click here to check out his blog.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
NBL semi-final updates
After the first game of both 3 game NBL semi-final series, the home teams are one game up.
I watched most of the Crocs game on Tuesday night but didn't see the Tigers-Breakers last night. Our boy John Rillie was rolling in the first half but hardly saw the rock after the break. Unfortunately Homicide couldn't buy a bucket, missing lay-up after lay-up ... the odd part was that despite this (and much to everyone's surprise), he managed to knock down a triple. Townsville was up by 12 at one point in the first half and had every chance to win this game but it was definitely the one that got away.
I'll be at the Shafston tonight playing poker so hopefully I'll see a fair bit of the Crocs-Dragons second game.
Also, I came across this interesting discussion about Player Efficiency rankings in the NBL for the 2008/2009 regular season. Click here to find out who was the most efficient ... trust me, you won't guess who was #1.
Click on the titles below to read the recaps of each game.
NBL > Match Report
The South Dragons are one win away from their first grand final appearance after defeating Townsville 94-81 in Game One of the best-of-three Semi-Final series at Hisense Arena on Tuesday night.
The top-ranked Dragons bucked a regular season trend, which saw them lose three of four clashes against the Crocodiles, to record a 13-point win.
A win on Thursday in Townsville will see the Dragons book their place in this season's Grand Final.
The Dragons received the quintessential captain's performance from Mark Worthington (27 points, 12 rebounds), who blew the game apart in the final term with 12 points.
NBL > Match Report
The Melbourne Tigers have edged one step closer to a fourth consecutive grand final appearance by posting a 117-99 victory over the New Zealand Breakers in the opening match of the best-of-three Semi-Final series at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.
It was all one-way traffic right from the opening tip as the Tigers took a 15-point lead into half-time and never let up from that point on to eventually cruise to victory.
The Breakers may have been the best three-point shooting side during the regular season, but the Tigers were dominant in that area in this clash, with David Barlow, Ebi Ere and Luke Kendall in particular deadly from beyond the arc.
Too much Donta Smith (pictured below), Mark Worthington and Adam Gibson than the Crocs could handle in game 1.
I watched most of the Crocs game on Tuesday night but didn't see the Tigers-Breakers last night. Our boy John Rillie was rolling in the first half but hardly saw the rock after the break. Unfortunately Homicide couldn't buy a bucket, missing lay-up after lay-up ... the odd part was that despite this (and much to everyone's surprise), he managed to knock down a triple. Townsville was up by 12 at one point in the first half and had every chance to win this game but it was definitely the one that got away.
I'll be at the Shafston tonight playing poker so hopefully I'll see a fair bit of the Crocs-Dragons second game.
Also, I came across this interesting discussion about Player Efficiency rankings in the NBL for the 2008/2009 regular season. Click here to find out who was the most efficient ... trust me, you won't guess who was #1.
Click on the titles below to read the recaps of each game.
NBL > Match Report
The South Dragons are one win away from their first grand final appearance after defeating Townsville 94-81 in Game One of the best-of-three Semi-Final series at Hisense Arena on Tuesday night.
The top-ranked Dragons bucked a regular season trend, which saw them lose three of four clashes against the Crocodiles, to record a 13-point win.
A win on Thursday in Townsville will see the Dragons book their place in this season's Grand Final.
The Dragons received the quintessential captain's performance from Mark Worthington (27 points, 12 rebounds), who blew the game apart in the final term with 12 points.
NBL > Match Report
The Melbourne Tigers have edged one step closer to a fourth consecutive grand final appearance by posting a 117-99 victory over the New Zealand Breakers in the opening match of the best-of-three Semi-Final series at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.
It was all one-way traffic right from the opening tip as the Tigers took a 15-point lead into half-time and never let up from that point on to eventually cruise to victory.
The Breakers may have been the best three-point shooting side during the regular season, but the Tigers were dominant in that area in this clash, with David Barlow, Ebi Ere and Luke Kendall in particular deadly from beyond the arc.
Too much Donta Smith (pictured below), Mark Worthington and Adam Gibson than the Crocs could handle in game 1.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
NBL wrap - round 21
Its a little later than usual, but here are the numbers that matter from round 21 in the NBL:
Dragons 97 36ers 77
For the Dragons:
Adam Gibson 18 points (6 of 7 from the field, 4 of 4 from downtown), 8 boards, 4 assists
Joe Ingles 18 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Mark Worthington 13 points, 9 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals
For the 36ers:
Paora Winitana 14 points, 3 assists
Jacob Holmes 10 points, 11 boards
Rod Grizzard 10 points, 7 boards
The Dragons jumped the 36ers early and were up 55 - 36 at the half. Full credit to the Dragons defence for keeping Ballinger and Schenscher to just 8 points each and forcing the 36ers in to 23 turnovers (Dragons had just 12). Adelaide, you know you're in trouble when Winitana is your top scorer! Very disappointing result for the 36ers as it show they're just not at the same level as the top teams in the league.
Taipans 89 Spirit 81
For the Taipans:
Martin Cattalini 28 points (11 of 14 from the field, including 4 triples), 10 boards, 6 assists
Aaron Grabeau 18 points, 6 boards, 4 assists
Matt Smith 5 points, 13 boards
For the Spirit:
Matthew Knight 21 points, 11 boards
Jason Smith 13 points, 6 boards
Blagov Janev 14 points
The Cat (Martin Cattalini) showed he can still put up great numbers. Is this his audition for the Wildcats for next season? Not much to say about the game itself ... two not good teams, Cairns just shot better from the field.
Hawks 103 Breakers 98
For the Hawks:
Dusty Rychart 18 points, 10 boards
Glen Saville 16 points, 4 boards, 4 steals
Kavossy Franklin 11 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
For the Breakers:
Phill Jones 25 points, 7 boards
CJ Bruton 13 points, 7 boards, 5 assists
Oscar Forman 16 points (including 4 triples)
No Kirk Penney for the Breakers and they drop yet another. I would've made the case earlier in the season for CJ being "more valuable" to the team but this stretch is showing that the Breakers struggle when they're not all fully fit. The Breakers dominated the boards 53 - 35 but hit just 39% from the field while the Hawks shot 55%.
Crocs 101 Dragons 98
For the Crocs:
John Rillie 28 points (including 6 triples), 7 boards
Corey Williams 26 points, 5 assists (but 7 turnovers)
Rosell Ellis 17 points, 9 boards, 3 steals
For the Dragons:
Donta Smith 22 points, 5 boards
Mark Worthington 22 points, 4 boards
Joe Ingles 20 points, 4 boards
Very good win for the Crocs against the #1 team. Great to see more heroics from our boy John Rillie. Two Joe Ingles sightings in two games ... what happened to him mid-season?? The Dragons could have won this but shot just 23 of 34 from the line.
36ers 102 Breakers 91
For the 36ers:
Adam Ballinger 19 points, 10 boards
Luke Schenscher 17 points, 7 boards
Brett Maher 17 points, 4 assists
For the Breakers:
Oscar Forman 26 points (including 4 triples), 6 boards
CJ Bruton 14 points (including 4 triples), 6 assists, 5 boards
Dillon Boucher 8 points, 9 assists, 5 boards, 4 steals
This game marked the final regular season home game for Adelaide legend Brett Maher. Still no Kirk Penney for the Breakers and they drop yet another one. Oscar Forman with some "old team rule" action. For some reason, import Rick Rickert came off the bench for the Breakers. NZ again let the opposition shoot 55% from the field while they shot just 43%.
Wildcats 106 Spirit 88
For the Wildcats:
Darnell Hinson 13 points, 8 assists, 6 boards
Shawn Redhage 16 points, 8 boards, 4 assists
Ben Knight 14 points, 9 boards
For the Spirit:
Clint Reed 20 points, 9 boards (but 7 turnovers and 0 assists)
Matthew Knight 11 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
Blagov Janev 14 points
A game of spurts with Perth winning the first quarter by 11, Spirit winning the second quarter by 11 and Perth dominating the third by 16. A very balanced effort from the Wildcats with 7 players in double figures and even youngster Chris "Bubbles"Goulding had 25 minutes of court time.
Blaze 93 Taipans 88
For the Blaze:
Luke Whitehead 20 points, 24 boards
James Harvey 19 points (including 5 triples), 4 boards
Justin Bowen 18 points, 6 boards
For the Taipans
Martin Cattalini 19 points, 9 boards
Gary Boodnikoff 18 points, 8 boards
Aaron Grabeau 14 points, 4 assists, 3 steals
Another game with 2 bad teams. Blaze essentially shot the ball better (50% - 42%) and outrebounded (48 - 35) the Taipans and would've won by more but had 20 turnovers (Cairns had just 11). Luke Whitehead has had a MASSIVE second half of the season!
Dragons 93 Tigers 83
For the Dragons:
Donta Smith 21 points, 5 boards
Mark Worthington 11 points, 10 boards
Joe Ingles 9 points, 11 boards, 6 assists
For the Tigers:
Chris Anstey 23 points, 11 boards
Ebi Ere 16 points
David Barlow 12 points, 9 boards
Its unfortunate that when these two teams meet its always an arm-wrestle and neither shoot great clips (both were around 40%), credit the defenses for that. Dragons won the game in the second half outscoring the Tigers 49 - 37. It'll be interesting to see what happens when these two teams battle in the play-offs.
At the end of round 21, the NBL ladder sees the Dragons on top and they have secured the minor premiership already. The Tigers are just behind and the Breakers are in third having dropped 5 in a row. The Crocs, Wildcats and 36ers round out the 6 and will fight for vital positions in the final round of the season. Not surprisingly, the Blaze are still at the bottom and will finish there.
Earlier in the week the NBL announced that John Rillie was the Player of the Week for his game-winning performance against the Dragons. Great to see John really find form in the lead up to the playoffs. Last week the NBL gave the award to James Harvey so I was wrong with my first guess of David Barlow but suspected Harvey might get the nod.
Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The runner-up is Tony Ronaldson from the NZ Breakers (2 of 10 and 3 of 13 from the field in two losses). The Flop of the Week however goes to Ronaldson's team mate Rick Rickert from the Breakers for his 3 of 9 and 1 of 10 from the field in their two losses. When your bigmen are shooting these sort of clips its not surprising the Breakers can't get a win at the moment.
As always our Shooter of the Week is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. There were some great basketball shooting performances and the honourable mentions go to John Rillie from the Crocs (28 points, 9 of 18 from the field, 6 triples, 4 of 4 from the line in a win over the Dragons) and Adam Gibson from the Dragons (6 of 7 from the field, 4 of 4 from downtown and 2 of 2 from the line in a win over the 36ers). The award this week goes to Martin Cattalini (pictured below) from the Cairns Taipans for his performance against the Sydney Spirit. Like JR last week, The Cat showed some of his offensive arsenal that made him almost unguardable a couple of seasons ago. His full line was: 28 points, 11 of 14 from the field, 4 of 5 from downtown, 2 of 2 from the line, 10 boards, 6 assists and 5 turnovers. Martin essentially put his team on his shoulders and carried them to a win and for that we salute him as our Shooter of the Week.
Great basketball shooting technique from The Cat
Dragons 97 36ers 77
For the Dragons:
Adam Gibson 18 points (6 of 7 from the field, 4 of 4 from downtown), 8 boards, 4 assists
Joe Ingles 18 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Mark Worthington 13 points, 9 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals
For the 36ers:
Paora Winitana 14 points, 3 assists
Jacob Holmes 10 points, 11 boards
Rod Grizzard 10 points, 7 boards
The Dragons jumped the 36ers early and were up 55 - 36 at the half. Full credit to the Dragons defence for keeping Ballinger and Schenscher to just 8 points each and forcing the 36ers in to 23 turnovers (Dragons had just 12). Adelaide, you know you're in trouble when Winitana is your top scorer! Very disappointing result for the 36ers as it show they're just not at the same level as the top teams in the league.
Taipans 89 Spirit 81
For the Taipans:
Martin Cattalini 28 points (11 of 14 from the field, including 4 triples), 10 boards, 6 assists
Aaron Grabeau 18 points, 6 boards, 4 assists
Matt Smith 5 points, 13 boards
For the Spirit:
Matthew Knight 21 points, 11 boards
Jason Smith 13 points, 6 boards
Blagov Janev 14 points
The Cat (Martin Cattalini) showed he can still put up great numbers. Is this his audition for the Wildcats for next season? Not much to say about the game itself ... two not good teams, Cairns just shot better from the field.
Hawks 103 Breakers 98
For the Hawks:
Dusty Rychart 18 points, 10 boards
Glen Saville 16 points, 4 boards, 4 steals
Kavossy Franklin 11 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
For the Breakers:
Phill Jones 25 points, 7 boards
CJ Bruton 13 points, 7 boards, 5 assists
Oscar Forman 16 points (including 4 triples)
No Kirk Penney for the Breakers and they drop yet another. I would've made the case earlier in the season for CJ being "more valuable" to the team but this stretch is showing that the Breakers struggle when they're not all fully fit. The Breakers dominated the boards 53 - 35 but hit just 39% from the field while the Hawks shot 55%.
Crocs 101 Dragons 98
For the Crocs:
John Rillie 28 points (including 6 triples), 7 boards
Corey Williams 26 points, 5 assists (but 7 turnovers)
Rosell Ellis 17 points, 9 boards, 3 steals
For the Dragons:
Donta Smith 22 points, 5 boards
Mark Worthington 22 points, 4 boards
Joe Ingles 20 points, 4 boards
Very good win for the Crocs against the #1 team. Great to see more heroics from our boy John Rillie. Two Joe Ingles sightings in two games ... what happened to him mid-season?? The Dragons could have won this but shot just 23 of 34 from the line.
36ers 102 Breakers 91
For the 36ers:
Adam Ballinger 19 points, 10 boards
Luke Schenscher 17 points, 7 boards
Brett Maher 17 points, 4 assists
For the Breakers:
Oscar Forman 26 points (including 4 triples), 6 boards
CJ Bruton 14 points (including 4 triples), 6 assists, 5 boards
Dillon Boucher 8 points, 9 assists, 5 boards, 4 steals
This game marked the final regular season home game for Adelaide legend Brett Maher. Still no Kirk Penney for the Breakers and they drop yet another one. Oscar Forman with some "old team rule" action. For some reason, import Rick Rickert came off the bench for the Breakers. NZ again let the opposition shoot 55% from the field while they shot just 43%.
Wildcats 106 Spirit 88
For the Wildcats:
Darnell Hinson 13 points, 8 assists, 6 boards
Shawn Redhage 16 points, 8 boards, 4 assists
Ben Knight 14 points, 9 boards
For the Spirit:
Clint Reed 20 points, 9 boards (but 7 turnovers and 0 assists)
Matthew Knight 11 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
Blagov Janev 14 points
A game of spurts with Perth winning the first quarter by 11, Spirit winning the second quarter by 11 and Perth dominating the third by 16. A very balanced effort from the Wildcats with 7 players in double figures and even youngster Chris "Bubbles"Goulding had 25 minutes of court time.
Blaze 93 Taipans 88
For the Blaze:
Luke Whitehead 20 points, 24 boards
James Harvey 19 points (including 5 triples), 4 boards
Justin Bowen 18 points, 6 boards
For the Taipans
Martin Cattalini 19 points, 9 boards
Gary Boodnikoff 18 points, 8 boards
Aaron Grabeau 14 points, 4 assists, 3 steals
Another game with 2 bad teams. Blaze essentially shot the ball better (50% - 42%) and outrebounded (48 - 35) the Taipans and would've won by more but had 20 turnovers (Cairns had just 11). Luke Whitehead has had a MASSIVE second half of the season!
Dragons 93 Tigers 83
For the Dragons:
Donta Smith 21 points, 5 boards
Mark Worthington 11 points, 10 boards
Joe Ingles 9 points, 11 boards, 6 assists
For the Tigers:
Chris Anstey 23 points, 11 boards
Ebi Ere 16 points
David Barlow 12 points, 9 boards
Its unfortunate that when these two teams meet its always an arm-wrestle and neither shoot great clips (both were around 40%), credit the defenses for that. Dragons won the game in the second half outscoring the Tigers 49 - 37. It'll be interesting to see what happens when these two teams battle in the play-offs.
At the end of round 21, the NBL ladder sees the Dragons on top and they have secured the minor premiership already. The Tigers are just behind and the Breakers are in third having dropped 5 in a row. The Crocs, Wildcats and 36ers round out the 6 and will fight for vital positions in the final round of the season. Not surprisingly, the Blaze are still at the bottom and will finish there.
Earlier in the week the NBL announced that John Rillie was the Player of the Week for his game-winning performance against the Dragons. Great to see John really find form in the lead up to the playoffs. Last week the NBL gave the award to James Harvey so I was wrong with my first guess of David Barlow but suspected Harvey might get the nod.
Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The runner-up is Tony Ronaldson from the NZ Breakers (2 of 10 and 3 of 13 from the field in two losses). The Flop of the Week however goes to Ronaldson's team mate Rick Rickert from the Breakers for his 3 of 9 and 1 of 10 from the field in their two losses. When your bigmen are shooting these sort of clips its not surprising the Breakers can't get a win at the moment.
As always our Shooter of the Week is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. There were some great basketball shooting performances and the honourable mentions go to John Rillie from the Crocs (28 points, 9 of 18 from the field, 6 triples, 4 of 4 from the line in a win over the Dragons) and Adam Gibson from the Dragons (6 of 7 from the field, 4 of 4 from downtown and 2 of 2 from the line in a win over the 36ers). The award this week goes to Martin Cattalini (pictured below) from the Cairns Taipans for his performance against the Sydney Spirit. Like JR last week, The Cat showed some of his offensive arsenal that made him almost unguardable a couple of seasons ago. His full line was: 28 points, 11 of 14 from the field, 4 of 5 from downtown, 2 of 2 from the line, 10 boards, 6 assists and 5 turnovers. Martin essentially put his team on his shoulders and carried them to a win and for that we salute him as our Shooter of the Week.
Great basketball shooting technique from The Cat
Monday, December 15, 2008
NBL wrap - round 13
Getting in early this week, here are the numbers that matter from a small round in the NBL:
36ers 100 Crocs 79
For the 36ers:
Julius Hodge 25 points, 12 boards, 7 assists
Luke Schenscher 19 points (8 of 11 from the field), 12 boards
Adam Ballinger 20 points, 11 boards
For the Crocs:
Corey Williams 15 points, 5 assists, 4 boards
Russell Hinder 11 points, 7 boards
Just an ugly game for the Crocs shooting 36% from the field, 16% from downtown and 55% from the line. Solid numbers across the board from the Sixers with 5 players scoring 14 points or more. Adelaide also dominated the boards 66 - 46.
Wildcats 129 36ers 120 (in double OT)
For the Wildcats:
Shawn Redhage 23 points, 10 boards
Alex Loughton 23 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
Peter Crawford 20 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards
For the 36ers:
Julius Hodge 28 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals
Adam Ballinger 26 points, 6 boards
Luke Schenscher 22 points, 11 boards, 4 assists
Adelaide would've had their chances to win this game but shot 20 of 29 from the line and Maher, Bruce and Holmes combined for just 13 of 39 from the field. Good team effort from Perth with 6 players scoring more than 15 points.
Taipans 97 Blaze 88 (in OT)
For the Taipans:
Ian Crosswhite 16 points, 17 boards
Gary Boodnikoff 17 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards
Martin Catallini 18 points, 5 boards
For the Blaze:
Luke Whitehead 17 points, 14 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
James Harvey 20 points
Ben Melmeth 12 points, 13 boards
Congratulations to the Taipans for getting a win, on the road, with an under-strength team, despite everything going on with their franchise at the moment. Bowen, Heal, Whitehead and Melmeth combined to shoot just 13 of 53 (24.5%) from the field ... UGLY. Blaze also committed 26 turnovers (Heal had 9) to just 14 from Cairns.
Dragons 107 Tigers 98
For the Dragons:
Mark Worthington 24 points, 8 boards
Adam Gibson 12 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
For the Tigers:
Ebi Ere 21 points, 5 boards
Chris Anstey 14 points, 11 boards
David Barlow 16 points, 8 boards, 5 assists
Tigers won the battle of the boards (52 - 40) but the Dragons stormed home in the final quarter 38 - 19 to get the win. Dragons seem to have the Tigers measure of late and definitely have bragging rights in the Melbourne rivalry.
Crocs 104 Hawks 99
For the Crocs:
Corey Williams 23 points, 8 assists
Rosell Ellis 15 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
For the Hawks:
Dusty Rychart 17 points (7 of 9 from the field), 6 boards
Cameron Tragardh 16 points, 8 boards
Anthony Petrie 17 points, 6 boards
Hawks jumped the Crocs early (37 - 22) in the first quarter but credit to the Crocs for fighting back. To my boy John Rillie ... he needs to teach his teammates how to shoot a free-throw because Williams and Ellis combined for just 6 of 18 from the line! Hawks won the boards 50 - 35 but committed too many turnovers 22 - 11 (Saville had 7).
After round 13 in the NBL, the Dragons now have a 2 game lead on the Breakers (who have played 2 less games) in second place, the Tigers are in 3rd and the Crocs are currently 4th. The Blaze are still on the bottom with 3 wins and the Hawks are second last with 6 wins.
As I'm getting in early, I can again speculate about who will win the NBL's Player of the Week. My prediction is that Mark Worthington (24 points, 8 boards in a a win over the Tigers) and Ian Crosswhite (16 points, 17 boards in a win over the Blaze) will get honourable mentions while the winner will again be that man Julius Hodge from the 36ers. Hodge had 25 points, 12 boards, 7 assists in a win over the Crocs and 28 points, 8 boards in the double OT loss to the Wildcats.
Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The runner-up is Rosell Ellis from the Crocs who went 5 of 14 from the line against Adelaide and then 3 of 7 against the Hawks. That's a combined 8 of 21 or just 38%. With Tovey, Ellis and Williams on the same team, are the Crocs the worst free-throw shooting team in the league?? The actual winner of the Flop of the Week tho is Justin Bowen from the Blaze who shot a woeful 1 of 11 from the field against the Taipans and committed 4 turnovers (with just 1 assist). Bowen had a good game last weekend but I held off giving him Shooter of the Week because I've seen him in action. He's been extremely inconsistent for the struggling Blaze and may be thankful we're this deep in to the season and it would be very hard to find a replacement.
Finally, our Shooter of the Week brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips goes to Dragons youngster Nathan Herbert (pictured below) for his 15 points and 4 of 5 from downtown effort against the Tigers. I've noticed Nathan provide valuable scoring off the bench a number of times this season for the Dragons and those 4 triples (3 in the final quarter) were big against the cross-town rival Tigers. To find out more about Herbert, click here.
36ers 100 Crocs 79
For the 36ers:
Julius Hodge 25 points, 12 boards, 7 assists
Luke Schenscher 19 points (8 of 11 from the field), 12 boards
Adam Ballinger 20 points, 11 boards
For the Crocs:
Corey Williams 15 points, 5 assists, 4 boards
Russell Hinder 11 points, 7 boards
Just an ugly game for the Crocs shooting 36% from the field, 16% from downtown and 55% from the line. Solid numbers across the board from the Sixers with 5 players scoring 14 points or more. Adelaide also dominated the boards 66 - 46.
Wildcats 129 36ers 120 (in double OT)
For the Wildcats:
Shawn Redhage 23 points, 10 boards
Alex Loughton 23 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
Peter Crawford 20 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards
For the 36ers:
Julius Hodge 28 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals
Adam Ballinger 26 points, 6 boards
Luke Schenscher 22 points, 11 boards, 4 assists
Adelaide would've had their chances to win this game but shot 20 of 29 from the line and Maher, Bruce and Holmes combined for just 13 of 39 from the field. Good team effort from Perth with 6 players scoring more than 15 points.
Taipans 97 Blaze 88 (in OT)
For the Taipans:
Ian Crosswhite 16 points, 17 boards
Gary Boodnikoff 17 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards
Martin Catallini 18 points, 5 boards
For the Blaze:
Luke Whitehead 17 points, 14 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
James Harvey 20 points
Ben Melmeth 12 points, 13 boards
Congratulations to the Taipans for getting a win, on the road, with an under-strength team, despite everything going on with their franchise at the moment. Bowen, Heal, Whitehead and Melmeth combined to shoot just 13 of 53 (24.5%) from the field ... UGLY. Blaze also committed 26 turnovers (Heal had 9) to just 14 from Cairns.
Dragons 107 Tigers 98
For the Dragons:
Mark Worthington 24 points, 8 boards
Adam Gibson 12 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
For the Tigers:
Ebi Ere 21 points, 5 boards
Chris Anstey 14 points, 11 boards
David Barlow 16 points, 8 boards, 5 assists
Tigers won the battle of the boards (52 - 40) but the Dragons stormed home in the final quarter 38 - 19 to get the win. Dragons seem to have the Tigers measure of late and definitely have bragging rights in the Melbourne rivalry.
Crocs 104 Hawks 99
For the Crocs:
Corey Williams 23 points, 8 assists
Rosell Ellis 15 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
For the Hawks:
Dusty Rychart 17 points (7 of 9 from the field), 6 boards
Cameron Tragardh 16 points, 8 boards
Anthony Petrie 17 points, 6 boards
Hawks jumped the Crocs early (37 - 22) in the first quarter but credit to the Crocs for fighting back. To my boy John Rillie ... he needs to teach his teammates how to shoot a free-throw because Williams and Ellis combined for just 6 of 18 from the line! Hawks won the boards 50 - 35 but committed too many turnovers 22 - 11 (Saville had 7).
After round 13 in the NBL, the Dragons now have a 2 game lead on the Breakers (who have played 2 less games) in second place, the Tigers are in 3rd and the Crocs are currently 4th. The Blaze are still on the bottom with 3 wins and the Hawks are second last with 6 wins.
As I'm getting in early, I can again speculate about who will win the NBL's Player of the Week. My prediction is that Mark Worthington (24 points, 8 boards in a a win over the Tigers) and Ian Crosswhite (16 points, 17 boards in a win over the Blaze) will get honourable mentions while the winner will again be that man Julius Hodge from the 36ers. Hodge had 25 points, 12 boards, 7 assists in a win over the Crocs and 28 points, 8 boards in the double OT loss to the Wildcats.
Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The runner-up is Rosell Ellis from the Crocs who went 5 of 14 from the line against Adelaide and then 3 of 7 against the Hawks. That's a combined 8 of 21 or just 38%. With Tovey, Ellis and Williams on the same team, are the Crocs the worst free-throw shooting team in the league?? The actual winner of the Flop of the Week tho is Justin Bowen from the Blaze who shot a woeful 1 of 11 from the field against the Taipans and committed 4 turnovers (with just 1 assist). Bowen had a good game last weekend but I held off giving him Shooter of the Week because I've seen him in action. He's been extremely inconsistent for the struggling Blaze and may be thankful we're this deep in to the season and it would be very hard to find a replacement.
Finally, our Shooter of the Week brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips goes to Dragons youngster Nathan Herbert (pictured below) for his 15 points and 4 of 5 from downtown effort against the Tigers. I've noticed Nathan provide valuable scoring off the bench a number of times this season for the Dragons and those 4 triples (3 in the final quarter) were big against the cross-town rival Tigers. To find out more about Herbert, click here.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
NBL wrap - end of round 3
Having been in Townsville working on footage for the Members-Only Workshop section of the website, I'm a bit behind on the NBL updates.
The end of round 3 was on Saturday night last weekend. The Dragons won on the road taking care of the Hawks 114 - 95 and Townsville beat Perth at The Swamp 97 - 80.
In the first game, Cortez Groves (pictured below) seems to be settling in to his 6th man role, leading the team in scoring with 25 points on 8 of 12 shooting including 6 of 8 from downtown. Mark Worthington (even tho I really don't like him) continues his strong start to the season with 19 points and 9 assists (must have been feeding Cortez). For the Hawks, their bigmen were good, Dusty Rychart had 22 points, 7 boards and Cameron Tragardh had 19. Kavossy Franklin stunk it up from the field shooting 1 of 11 but he wasn't alone as Glen Saville shot 2 of 12.
In game 2 of the night, it was all about 200 gamer Kelvin Robertson. You look at the boxscore and it would seem that his teammates got out of the way and let him go to work. Kelvin had 27 points on 10 of 13 shooting in just 27 minutes of court-time. Rosell Ellis had 14 points, 11 boards and Cameron Tovey had 15 points, 6 boards. No one really fired for the Wildcats ... Darnell Hinson had 15 points, 5 boards and Alex Loughton had 14 points, 8 boards.
The end of round 3 was on Saturday night last weekend. The Dragons won on the road taking care of the Hawks 114 - 95 and Townsville beat Perth at The Swamp 97 - 80.
In the first game, Cortez Groves (pictured below) seems to be settling in to his 6th man role, leading the team in scoring with 25 points on 8 of 12 shooting including 6 of 8 from downtown. Mark Worthington (even tho I really don't like him) continues his strong start to the season with 19 points and 9 assists (must have been feeding Cortez). For the Hawks, their bigmen were good, Dusty Rychart had 22 points, 7 boards and Cameron Tragardh had 19. Kavossy Franklin stunk it up from the field shooting 1 of 11 but he wasn't alone as Glen Saville shot 2 of 12.
In game 2 of the night, it was all about 200 gamer Kelvin Robertson. You look at the boxscore and it would seem that his teammates got out of the way and let him go to work. Kelvin had 27 points on 10 of 13 shooting in just 27 minutes of court-time. Rosell Ellis had 14 points, 11 boards and Cameron Tovey had 15 points, 6 boards. No one really fired for the Wildcats ... Darnell Hinson had 15 points, 5 boards and Alex Loughton had 14 points, 8 boards.
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