THE Holiday Haven Shoalhaven State League Tigers are set to take on the Queanbeyan Yowies at the Tigers Den tomorrow night.
It will be the Tigers’ final home match of the 2009
season.
In a top of the ladder clash, league leaders Queanbeyan take on the Tigers from 6pm.
The Tigers have won their past three games and have moved up into second place.
While a win for the Tigers over Queanbeyan would be pleasing, it would not affect the top of the table with Queanbeyan beyond reach at the end of the regular season.
A win would however cement second position on the ladder for the Tigers and ensure a quarter finals berth with only one game to go next week against Moss Vale in Moss Vale.
The Tigers have found form at the right end of the season.
This has been due to a full squad being available for selection over the past month.
It was a frustrating start to the season for the coaching staff with players either absent with work, injury or other basketball commitments.
James Lee has been a rock for the Tigers over the past month in the point guard position.
He is deceptively quick and shoots the ball well from the top of the key.
He has the ability to control the tempo of the game that the Tigers lacked early in the season in his absence.
This game will be the first time that James has played his old team, as he was himself a Queanbeyan junior and State League player for many years.
His inside knowledge against his old teammates will certainly assist the Tigers this weekend.
Inside the paint, Brent Nemith and Brad Mulvihill have been huge for the Tigers at both ends of the floor.
Their physical presence inside the paint matches any team in the league for size and both are keen for a win this weekend.
Both were in Queanbeyan taking on the Yowies with a depleted Tigers outfit a couple of months ago when the Tigers pushed the competition leaders all the way to the finish going down by only six points on the road.
The Tigers fell into foul trouble on that occasion and will ensure that this weekend, the same does not occur.
These big men have led the way for the Tigers in the scoring all year.
Brent’s ability to bulldoze his way to the basket and Brad’s ability to hit the shot from the elbows and the perimeter gives the Tigers variety at the offensive end of the court.
The Tigers will again rely heavily on their transition game up the floor.
Whenever the boys have been down, it has been their running game that has got them back into contact with any team this year.
This will come down to Will Ozolins, Stuart Jamieson, Liam Allen and Ben Morris to make the most of the opportunities that come their way.
On occasions this season, the Tigers have struggled to convert simple transition, particularly early in the game.
The boys will need to come ready to play this weekend.
Ozolins, Jamieson and Morris have all shown that they can score from anywhere on the floor this year.
All have had 20 point plus games this season on more than one occasion and will all be ready to play.
Allen, coming off the bench, has been a rock at the defensive end.
There would struggle to be a quicker player in the league up and down the floor and his efforts on the defensive end have been noticed and appreciated by his fellow players, coaches and crowds this year.
The Queanbeyan men will be a tough unit.
They have lost only two games this year although they have been in several other tight finishes, particularly on the road.
They have a wealth of talent including team stalwarts Adam Jackson and Joe McGann and young guns Mat Ball and Marcus James.
Queanbeyan has shown this season that their points can come from all over the floor.
In past seasons, McGann has been the go to man, the Tigers will still need to pay careful attention to him this weekend.
Last time he came to the Tigers Den he hit 40 plus on the locals.
This time it will be up to Nemith and Ozolins to shut him down.
While at the time of writing this article, this weekend’s team had not been selected from training, all can be sure that this week’s session was full on and the Tigers have worked hard on how they are going to contain the Yowies.
The Tigers are hoping for a full house this weekend. It is the last home game of the regular season.
Anyone who was at the Tigers Den a month ago when it last rocked with excitement against Griffith will be back for another night of entertainment guaranteed.
That game went to overtime, and the parochial crowd was certainly a factor in getting the win for the Tigers.
The Tigers are hoping for the same result again this weekend.
All children are admitted free this weekend and adults are $5.
The Tigers are hopeful that all players’ sponsors will be in attendance this weekend so that they can be thanked for their support this season.
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