AUS - FIBA World Championship stars to square off for title

AUSTRALIA (NBL) - It was as if game one had never finished. After demolishing the Cairns Taipans in Melbourne on Wednesday night, the Tigers flew to North Queensland and simply did it again, defeating Cairns, who scored a flurry of late points to gain some respectability, 95-87.

In a scary sign for the Brisbane Bullets, who Melbourne will now meet in the best of five grand final series, the Tigers were even more impressive than in game one, and were not genuinely challenged after the early stages. Taipans shooting guard Aaron Grabau summed it up best when interviewed at half time.

"I didn’t even know that they had missed a shot," said a bewildered Grabau. "What do you do? We are playing as hard as we can."

The Tigers were literally breath taking in the first half, with reserve guards Nathan Crosswell and Darryl Corletto dangerous both inside and out, rendering useless the Taipans defensive plans. With Cairns scrambling to cover these two unexpected destroyers, internationals Dave Thomas, Chris Anstey and Axel Dench were left unguarded and made the Taipans pay.

When the Tigers did miss, Stephen Hoare and Anstey were invariably waiting to collect the offensive board and score the easy two. But the biggest damage was done in the open court. After coach Al Westover admitted last week the Tigers had lost much of their open court spark, his players have turned the key come semi final time.

Darryl Macdonald, Rashard Tucker, Dave Thomas and Crosswell all scored open court lay ups in the first quarter as the Tigers rushed to a 36-23 lead at the first break. Crosswell scored all his ten points in the quarter, and it was his incredible ability to blow by multiple defenders that spread the Taipans defence and set up Melbourne’s match winning lead.

Most impressive is the control of Macdonald and Crosswell at the point, who expertly probe the transition defence, but just as quickly initiate the half court offence if nothing presents. The athletic Thomas, Hoare and Rashard Tucker constantly knife into gaps without the ball, meaning defences cannot rest or focus their attention on the Tigers on ball screens.

It is difficult to write much about the Taipans’ first half, as they were merely garnish to the Tigers brilliance. After scoring just two points in the first six minutes, Cairns did manage to get their offence into gear, even if they couldn’t stop the Tigers. Most scores were generated by tough drives from Darnell Mee (23 points, 7 assists, 57% shooting) and Martin Cattalini (17 points, 12 rebounds), both veterans of European club basketball, who repeatedly took on numerous defenders to score or create for teammates.

After trailing 66-45 at half time, the Taipans actually got the margin back to eight, which was the final margin. But the workload carried by Mee and Cattalini early in the game meant they were running on empty when their team looked to them for one final effort to bridge the gap.

Post-game, Taipans coach Alan Black said that to clear the semi final hurdle that has claimed his team the past two seasons, the Taipans need to emulate the Tigers composure down the stretch.

"They have got some guys in crunch time that get it done. We need to look at getting some guys like that in our group," he said. "The crowd was sensational even when we more than twenty points down, but unfortunately we couldn't have a real stab at it."

Best for Cairns in the second half was reserve centre Matt Smith. The 27 year old Victorian has been in the league for five seasons, but has failed to capitilise on his impressive athleticism. But Alan Black has brought the best out of the 210cm jumping jack, and he is one the NBL’s most improved players. Friday night he registered 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Credit must also go to league referees, who have abandoned many of the soft calls that frustrated players throughout the season. Offensive players who initiate contact are not being rewarded in the playoffs, and that has allowed big men like Smith, Axel Dench and Russell Hinder of the Kings to be far more effective than in the regular season.

If this trend continues fans could see the best NBL grand final ever. Why? Melbourne and Brisbane are the best defensive teams, both in the half and full court. They slide their feet, and come from the weak side to block shots. No one in the league executes better than them offensively, and they are both without question the most exciting in the open court. If allowed, this series will be at an intensity not seen in Australia before.

Basketball purists will see two teams that time their cuts perfectly, pass precisely and share the ball, always deferring to the open man. They approach defence and value the ball like top European teams, but play the game with the offensive aggression Australian basketball is known for.

So who will win? That is a question for another article, but the Tigers had a very impressive spread tonight. Anstey (16 points, 9 boards), Tucker (15 points, 12 boards), Hoare (15 points, 8 boards), Corletto (15 points, 4 assists), Crosswell (10 points) and Macdonald (10 points) all scored in double figures, and Dench, Thomas and David Stiff will do so if given enough shots. Defensively, they knew how to force Cairns out of their preferred offence, and made their guns work extremely hard for any points they scored.

Tigers coach Al Westover believes the Tigers resilience in the face of Cairns late comeback shows that his team has the approach needed to claim the NBL Championship.

"To win a championship you've got to show you can beat good teams on the road, so we thought if we could get this one here you can't have a better preparation," Westover said.
"We seemed to lose the plot offensively towards the end of the third, and the start of the fourth quarter, but the defence was pretty solid throughout.We steadied (and) made some big plays when they cut it 10."

The grand final series begins on Friday, March 2nd in Brisbane. Tickets to every game will be sought after like U2 tickets in Ireland. Those that have followed FIBA competitions will know Anstey, Thomas, Macdonald, Bruton, Mackinnon, Dench, Bradtke, Boucher and Ebi Ere well. Stephen Black, Adam Gibson and Stephen Hoare all have FIBA Under 22 World Championship experience.

The best news for basketball fans is that these players enter the grand final in form, and neutral observers will be hoping for a five game series with all the twists and turns of the double overtime thriller Melbourne and Brisbane played out earlier in the season.

For all the build up to the NBL grand final log on to fiba.com.

Paul Kennedy
FIBA Official Correspondent in Australia.