Tigers focus on the boards to force Wolves into Game 3

THE Willetton Tigers are focused on a strong performance on the glass against the Joondalup Wolves on Friday night at Willetton Basketball Stadium in Game 2 of the semi-final series as they attempt to win and put the pressure back on the defending champions.

The Tigers put in a good performance for the most part last Saturday night in Game 1 of the semi finals against the Wolves at Joondalup Basketball Stadium, but the home team ended up getting to the line a monstrous 46 times and outrebounded Willetton by 23 to end up winning 122-103.

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That means that for the Tigers to now make the 2016 Men's SBL Grand Final they need to firstly win Game 2 this Friday night at Willetton Basketball Stadium and then if they succeed with that, to prevail in the deciding Game 3 back at Joondalup Basketball Stadium where the Wolfpack have won their last 28 matches.

The Tigers did a lot of things right last Saturday night, but coach Steve Black is confident if they can tidy up a couple of areas this weekend then there is every reason they can firstly win Game 2 at home, and then end up qualifying for the Grand Final.

"They are the No. 2 seed and they won the first game at home like they needed to. Now we go back and we win our game, and then we came back for Game 3 and try to put some pressure on them," Black said.

"That's where things sit and I feel like we can be happy with the effort that we put out on the floor, but we need to get better and aim higher. We need to go home and win Game 2."

While the Tigers did a lot right last Saturday night, being outrebounded by 23 did prove a massive factor in the final result. Wolves big men Kevin Davis, Rob Huntington and Damian Matacz in fact had more boards between them than the whole of the Willetton team combined.

A sore back for Nic Cody and foul trouble for Josh Johnson certainly played its part in that, but Black was making no excuses and he knows that a similar rebounding discrepancy this weekend could prove fatal for the Tigers' outstanding 2016 season.

"When he (Nic) hit the back wall, I think that sort of hurt him a little bit but he was alright. He was in foul trouble too and so was JJ, and everyone really. But Nic will be fine for Friday," Black said.

"We probably played well enough in the first half offensively to have a bit of a lead, but we just didn’t quite do the job on the boards that we needed to do. If we can do a better job there then we give ourselves a chance to really get something done on Friday.

"Davis was exceptional in the first half and I think that we got better at that as the game wore on, but it wasn’t good enough.

"We are aware of that and I think that really it can't be that kind of a discrepancy in Game 2 and us expect to win. If we can do a better job there, which I think we're very capable of, then it's going to be a bit of a different game."

Damien Scott had a huge first half for the Tigers exploding for 27 points and ending the night with 33 on the back of shooting 12-of-19 from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point territory.

Charles Funches also stepped up in the third quarter with the big man nailing three triples to keep Willetton in touch of Joondalup, but the Tigers just couldn’t quite maintain pace with the Wolves who dominated the glass and continued getting to the foul line.

"Chuck had a really good second half and Scotty was amazing in the first half. We said before the game that we felt Scotty might be due for one of those Scotty type of games, and he was sensational," Black said.

"I feel like I needed to probably do a better job of getting him the ball in the second half, but I was really proud of the way that he played."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Serene-Elise Photography




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