AUS - Saville celebrates 500 games in style

MELBOURNE (NBL) - At half time of Glen Saville's 500th NBL games things did not look rosy. The Melbourne Tigers led Saville's Wollongong Hawks 44-32 and Sav had barely troubled the scorers.

The Australian dual-Olympian would not go quietly into the night however, and sprang into action in the third term, scoring 9 points and grabbing 4 steals to spark the Hawks to a 34-13 term.

Saville was everywhere in the final quarter too as Wollongong repelled Melbourne's charge to take an invaluable 86-82 road win, their star 34-year old swingman finishing his vintage display with 15 points at 70% to go with 10 assists, 7 rebounds and his 4 steals.

It was a fitting celebration of Saville's 17 season career, with friends and family making the trip to Melbourne to cheer him on. Saville has no thoughts of retirement however, and is keen of repeating last year's heroics.

The Hawks shocked Oceania by making last season's grand final behind former Australian Boomers assistant coach Gordie McLeod, and now sporting a 4-1 record, including two road wins, the NBL's 'community franchise' are again taking it to the big boys.

Australian FIBA Oceania Championship representative Oscar Forman continued his excellent season with his new club, recording 21 points and 9 rebounds, while Hawks import Gary Ervin continued to impress with 18 points and 6 assists.

Wollongong sit second on the NBL ladder behind the star-studded New Zealand Breakers, who welcomed Kirk Penney back into their line-up in round 4 and promptly disposed of the undermanned Gold Coast Blaze, 96-81, to move to 4-0.

With Australian internationals Mark Worthington, James Harvey and Adam Gibson the Blaze were still a genuine threat, but that trio shot a combined 14/48 against the Breakers' pressure defence, keyed by Kiwi internationals Mika Vukona, Thomas Abercrombie and Paul Henare.

Abercrombie was strong at the offensive end too, recording 15 points and 8 rebounds to go with 3 blocks. Import Gary Wilkinson was strong in the post to finish with 23 points and 7 rebounds, while former Georgetown great Kevin Braswell had 14 points and 5 rebounds. Penney finished with 13 points on 4/12 shooting.

In other games, Beijing Olympian Shawn Redhage inspired the Perth Wildcats to a 91-86 road win over the Townsville Crocs, collecting 23 points from all parts of the floor to go with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Rising star Stephen Weigh provided great support with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while for Townsville, former Detroit Piston Will Blalock broke out of his debut-season slump in the final quarter to finish with 19 points.

The Wildcats couldn't back it up the next night however, as Cairns Taipans import Ron Dorsey found some form of his own with 22 points on 8/13 shooting along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals to lead his team to a 86-69 home win.

Veteran Dusty Rychart had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Cairns, while Weigh (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Redhage (15 points, 7 rebounds) again led the way for Perth.

Adelaide bounced back from consecutive losses to record a strong 87-75 win over the Sydney Kings. Despite a poor shooting night import Troy Devries finished with 18 points for the 36ers, while naturalised Aussie Adam Ballinger (16 points) and new import Craig Winder (15 points, 6 rebounds) found some strong form in front of their home fans.

For Sydney, rookie Luke Cooper and veteran Damien Ryan both tallied 17 points, while emerging centre Julian Khazzouh finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds despite receiving strong defensive attention.

Round five sees the New Zealand Breakers visit Adelaide on Friday night before heading to Perth for the game of the round on Sunday night. Townsville take on the Kings in Sydney, Melbourne face a rematch with Wollongong, while Cairns host the Gold Coast Blaze, who will welcome new imports Ira Clark and Daryl Hudson.

Paulo Kennedy
FIBA