Tassie experiment pays dividends for the Tigers

For the second successive week, the Melbourne Tigers had marquee signing Chris Anstey to thank for victory, as the Boomer hit 13 last-quarter points to inspire the Tigers to a 111-104 win over the Adelaide 36ers at a packed Derwent Entertainment Centre.

The match was filled with marvellous shooting from outside the perimeter and sensational lay-ups, which were interspersed with fantastic blocks and brilliant steals in a superb advertisement for the league.

The seven-point triumph saw Melbourne post their fifth successive win, whilst in stark contrast the 36ers are now winless in four matches.

The Tigers, down by nine points in the third term, produced a sterling comeback ignited by Anstey and the evergreen Darryl McDonald.

Anstey shot 24 points and claimed 13 boards, with McDonald (20 points, eight assists) and David Stiff (20 points, seven boards) also starring.

Dave Thomas (20 points) and Neil Mottram (16 points) also chipped in with valuable contributions which ensured the Tigers would come from the match with a win.

For the losers, Dusty Rychart hit 24 points and secured 10 rebounds, but Rychart lacked support with the only other scorer above 20 being the always reliable Brett Maher.

After a long period of absence, NBL basketball in Tasmania was finally back on the map with the Tigers spending $40,000 extra in order to stage the game in the Apple Isle.

However, the investment should pay dividends, as a jam-packed crowd helped the Tigers come from behind and win an important match.

The 36ers came into the clash with the series split their way at 2-1, and the Tigers had to win by eight points or more to secure the split.

Unbelievably, the Tigers won by seven, leaving the series split deadlocked at 2-2 and the points score for both sides over the four matches identical.

In the absence of the injured Rashad Tucker, Steven Hoare made his way into the starting line-up to partner Mottram in a lethal forward combination.

And it was Mottram who lit the Tigers spark early, with the former Perth Wildcat hitting 10 of the Tigers first 14 points in the opening five minutes as the hosts jumped out to an early 14-7 lead.

But the 36ers, inspired by enigmatic talent Willie Farley, clawed their way back into the match as the import hit 14 first-quarter points shooting 6/7 from the field.

A late long-range triple from Farley, closed the margin to five points at the first change, 30-25 with the Tigers holding sway.

After a quarter-time rev-up from coach Phil Smyth, the 36ers came out breathing fire and took the game to Melbourne with the 36ers dominating the early part of the second period.

After four minutes, a comfortable lay-up was converted by forward Jacob Holmes which gave the 36ers the lead for the first time in the match.

After a mini-fightback from Adelaide, the Tigers produced their own sensational reply, which was a 6-0 run on the back of a brilliant reverse slam-dunk from David Stiff, which put the game in the Tigers favour - 56 to 53 at the long break.

After two minutes of tight basketball to start the third period, the 36ers exploded into a smoking 11-0 run in which they shut the Tigers fans up and produced a quality display of basketball.

Oscar Foreman started to hit his form long range, and with Brett Maher on song as always, the 36ers opened out a seven-point gap on the Melbournians.

The Tigers came back into the match thanks to a purple patch from Stiff, who hit seven points in three minutes.

With 56 seconds left, a superb offensive drive by Dave Thomas saw him earn a foul and shoot two which was followed by a successful free-throw which earnt the Canadian a three-point play.

A late long-range bomb from Dusty Rychart gave the 36ers a three-point lead at the final change, 83-80.

With the Tigers down at the final change, they needed somebody to step up.

Enter Chris Anstey.

Anstey hit an early triple to level the scores, and continued on his rampage with a pair of free-throws. A tight tussle continued, with McDonald setting the Tigers alight with a sensational reverse lay-up.

A series of clutch baskets from Anstey pushed the lead out to four points, before Thomas added the finishing touches with a hat-trick of baskets from the charity stripe.

Both sides are in action again on Friday night, with the Tigers playing host to Wollongong Hawks at The Cage. The 36ers face a tough assignment in trying to avoid five successive losses when they clash with the Sydney Kings at the Kingdome.

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