Defending Champs Start New Season in Style

The Melbourne Tigers have kicked off their National Basketball League title defence with a hard fought 94-86 win over the Cairns Taipans at the State Netball and Hockey Centre tonight.

The Tigers battled back after a scrappy opening half to overrun the visiting Taipans in front of 2820 fans, a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter giving the home side the decisive break. Melbourne relied on a solid team effort to get past Cairns with six players reaching double figures while their bench players produced a whopping 40 points compared to just nine for the Taipans.

Dave Thomas top-scored for the Tigers with 16 points while veteran point guard Darryl McDonald scored 15 to go with his 11 assists. Reigning NBL MVP Chris Anstey managed 13 points and 11 boards after an injury interrupted preseason while Stephen Hoare produced 13 points and eight rebounds. New additions Nathan Croswell and Axel Dench acquitted themselves well with 10 and 12 points respectively.

Cairns forward Martin Catalini produced a game-high 32 points, including 10 in the final quarter that saw the Taipans close the gap to just three points inside of two minutes to play, while guard Anthony Stewart made four three-pointers in his tally of 21. American import centre Kevin Owens scored 11 points with seven rebounds and two blocks in his NBL debut while Darnell Mee was the only other double-digit scorer with ten points.

Poor shooting and a high turnover rate saw the home side behind at half-time with Dave Thomas fouling Anthony Stewart on a late three-point attempt, the Cairns guard making two of his three foul shots for a 46-43 lead.

But the Tigers improved significantly after the main break with Anstey, McDonald and Thomas accounting for 15 of their 25 third quarter points.

The Tigers then made their move at the start of the final quarter, Melbourne new boys Croswell and Dench combining for nine points as part of their damaging 12-2 run.

Cairns battled hard to remain in the contest, the red-hot Cattalini scoring their last three field goals to make the score 88-55 with less than two minutes to play.

But Melbourne's leaders stepped up when it mattered - a running jumper in the lane from McDonald gave his side breathing space before Dave Thomas and Anstey nailed important free throws down the stretch to ensure a first-up win for the defending champs.

The Tigers now have a ten-day break before travelling to Brisbane to face the Bullets while Cairns return home to prepare for a visit from the Wollongong Hawks next Friday night.

•  Have a view on this story? Send us your feedback!