Bullets complete fairytale run

The Brisbane Bullets have completed a fairytale run to their first National Basketball League Championship in twenty years, wrapping up the Grand Final series 3-1 with victory over the Melbourne Tigers in game four at the State Netball and Hockey Centre tonight.

Brisbane took charge late in the third quarter and withstood a desperate charge down the stretch from the home side to run out 103-94 winners.

The Bullets won a remarkable 23 of 24 games on their run to the championship, including a league-record 21 in succession. A 105-91 loss in game two of the Grand Final series was their only defeat since last November.

Captain Sam Mackinnon, voted the league's Most Valuable Player this week, also added the Grand Final MVP award to his list of achievements. In a typical all-purpose display, he scored 13 points, including Brisbane's first six points of the final quarter as they established their match winning lead, and collected eight rebounds and three steals.

CJ Bruton scored nine of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter as well as dishing out seven assists while Dusty Rychart made 10 of 13 shots for his 21 points. Reserve guard Adam Gibson finished with 12 points while Stephen Black was held to just 11 points.

For Melbourne, Rashad Tucker and Daryl McDonald top-scored with 17 points apiece but between them committed 13 of the Tigers 26 turnovers for the game, compared to just 14 for Brisbane.

Chris Anstey finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds while import guard Dave Thomas collected 14 and 11. Daryl Corletto scored 11 of his 12 points in the final term, including three long bombs that helped reduce a double-digit margin to just six points with minutes remaining.

But the Bullets had all the answers in the closing stages, Bruton and former Tiger Mark Bradtke both hitting important shots. A long Anstey triple in the final minute gave the home side one last glimmer of hope down by five points but Bruton connected on two foul shots with 36 seconds left for a 99-92 lead.

After two made free throws from McDonald brought the margin back to five, Gibson sealed the result for Brisbane by coolly hitting a pair of free throws with 28 seconds to go for a 101-94 lead, then pinching a pass intended for Anstey on the perimeter and going all the way for the easy lay-in.

After a see-saw battle for two and a half quarters, Brisbane set up their win with a 27-15 third term that including an 11-0 run, Bruton scoring the last six with a triple followed by a three-point play, to finish the quarter ahead 76-67.

Despite shooting a better percentage from the field and again dominating the boards 51-35, Melbourne struggled to execute at important stages under the pressure of Brisbane's team defence. The Tigers coughed up 12 more turnovers than Brisbane, who grabbed 11 steals to just four for Melbourne.

With their championship defence on the line, the Tigers started out aggressively by working the low post to good effect. Tucker was vital early, scoring eight points in the first quarter and assisting McDonald advance the ball up court against Brisbane's pressure defence.

Anstey scored two straight baskets, registered an early block and drew a charging foul from Stephen Black, the Brisbane guard spending most of the quarter on the bench with two early fouls.

Sam Mackinnon gave the visitors a two-point quarter time lead by draining a three-pointer as time expired. Brisbane then extended that lead to seven points early in the second with a Mackinnon field goal followed by a long bomb from Black.

After scoring seven points in the opening term, Rychart continued his strong offense with six in the second quarter as the Bullets built an eight point lead at 41-33.

But the evergreen McDonald sparked Melbourne's strong finish to the half, the defending champs scoring seven unanswered points on two occasions to go into the half-time break ahead 52-49.

However, the third quarter proved to be the pivotal period of the game, as it did when the Tigers outscored the Bullets 39-16 on the way to winning game two. But this time, it was Brisbane who made the decisive break and, in the process, sealed what was a deserved championship victory.

Brisbane Bullets 103 (Bruton 22, Rychart 21, Mackinnon 13)
Melbourne Tigers 94 (Tucker 17, McDonald 17, Anstey 16)
@ the State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne. Crowd: 3,500

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