Tigers on Top of the World

The Sydney Kings 1,058 day reign atop the NBL has finally ended with the Melbourne Tigers defeating the three time defending champions 88-83 to wrap up the best of five grand final series 3-0 tonight at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

For the third game in a row the Tigers were forced to come from behind to claim victory and once again it was built around a strong defensive effort that saw them limit the Kings to their lowest points total of the season.

Sydney led by as many 11 points early in the game and held a six point half time buffer, but just like the first two games Melbourne rallied in the second half to make it five for five in their playoff games this season.

Rookie coach Al Westover couldn’t have hoped for a better season picking up the coach of the year gong and then topping it off with his first NBL title as head honcho after a 13 year apprenticeship under the great Lindsay Gaze.

“It doesn’t get any sweeter than this right now,” said a jubilant Westover.

“You just felt within the group that we weren’t going to lose. When we got down we kept our composure and never panicked. We always kept finding ways to win.”

Tigers centre Chris Anstey received the Larry Sengstock medal for his MVP efforts over the grand final series with tonight’s effort of 16 points 10 rebounds and five assists seeing him just edge out his team mate Dave Thomas who also had a great game three with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

41 year old veteran Daryl McDonald belied his age to once again run rings around the Kings with 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists and his efforts were backed up by fiery American Rashad Tucker who flirted with a rare triple double picking up 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

After receiving a hefty $10,000 fine from the NBL earlier in the day for his comments regarding the referees in game two Jason Smith shook off that controversy to lead his side with 20 points and nine rebounds, while CJ Bruton (15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists) provided some late game heroics hitting two three pointers in the final two minutes to give the Kings a glimmer of hope down the stretch.

With the sight of the NBL championship trophy sitting just metres away on the sideline the Tigers could nearly reach the hardware and this vision saw them start the match like men possessed holding the Kings scoreless for the first three minutes to help them race to an early 4-0 lead.

Sydney’s slow start didn’t last long though with Smith exploding to score the Kings first 14 points of the game and help his side storm to a 14-8 lead midway through the first period.

The many fans on hand at the Kingdome were excited by what they saw and their enthusiasm rubbed off on the Sydney players as they continued to punish the Tigers errors and by quarter time had built a comfortable 11 point buffer (28-17).

A few adjustments from Melbourne paid immediate dividends in the opening stages of the second term as the Tigers went on a 15-4 run to tie the game up at 32-32, but Smith’s fifth and sixth three pointers of the match gave the Kings a small advantage with six minutes left in the half (38-34).

Melbourne continued to hang tough over the concluding stages of the first half getting back to within two points of the three time defending champions, but CJ Bruton’s first points of the game and a Luke Kendall three pointer meant the Kings would be ahead 47-41 at the main break.

Sydney were able to open up a nine point lead two minutes into the third term, but that was as good as it would get for the home side with the Tigers charging back into the contest to trail by just two points half way through the quarter (56-54).

The Kings looked likely to take a narrow edge into the final quarter when they led by two with a minute to play in the period, but a huge three pointer from youngster Daryl Corletto meant that Melbourne would have the advantage going into the deciding period (66-65).

The Tigers as they have all series moved their defensive intensity up a notch in the last period, choking the life out of Sydney’s offence and although the Kings got as close three points with 40 seconds left in the game Melbourne were able to hold their composure over the final few moments to sweep the series and in the process win their first title since 1997.

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