PRELIMINARY FINAL ONE
Melbourne Tigers 114 dft Waverley Falcons 82
IT was a game of two halves at the Veneto Club on Saturday night as the Tigers and Falcons dueled for supremacy and a shot at the grand final series.
It was Waverley who drew first blood and tested the impressive Melbourne outfit, matching the much-fancied side to hold a three-point lead at quarter time.
This muscle match-up continued into the second term, with a goal for gaol scenario playing out.
Melbourne managed to hold a four-point edge heading into the major break.
It was a new-look Melbourne force with took the floor in the second term, piling on the points to boast a 25-point lead by three-quarter time.
Half-way into the final term Waverley had waved the white flag, with the Tigers resting their quality five and gave their bench a run.
The final margin was set at 32 points.
Melbourne’s success was thanks largely to the repeat performances of Daryl Corletto (game-high 30 points, seven boards and seven assists) and Tommy Greer ( 23 points, 25 boards) who since the injury to big man Daniel Johnson have powerfully stepped up to fill the void.
Adrien Sturt did not let them shard all the glory however, impressively snagging his own 24 points and 10 boards and provided a sure set of hands when shooting for the bonus hitting eight from eight.
Matt O’Hea provided some sharp shooting also, managing 16 points and seven boards.
For Waverley it was Darren Smith who put himself on the line to score a crucial 23 points and pull-in nine boards, with James Anderson hitting a handy 15 points and Ivan Platenik managing 13 points and eight boards.
The Tigers now head into the grand final series hot off the back of an 18-game winning streak.
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