THE Kennedy's Tours Shoalhaven Tigers have kept their finals dream alive, by courageously defeating the Sydney Comets 78-74 in Saturday's youth men's fixture at the Den.
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In their must-win penultimate match of the season, the Tigers battled hard in the first quarter, scoring the final four points of the period, to go into the first break all tied up at 14-all.
The Scott Balsar's troops then stepped it up a notch in the second term, outscoring the visitors by eight points, to go into half-time up 33-25.
But the Comets are sitting in second place on the Waratah League ladder for a reason and stormed back into the match in the third quarter, to only trail 50-48 heading into the final period.
Knowing their season was on the line, the Tigers scored 10 quick points - six to Kyle Leslie and four to Riley O'Shannessy - to stretch their lead to 60-50 with 7.45 left to play.
But costly turnovers and poor execution by the black and golds saw the Comets close to within three points, with just under four minutes to play.
In the final few tense minutes, clutch baskets by Gavin Costain and Brayden Morris saw the Cubs hold on for a determined four-point win.
"Every game from here on in is a grand final to us and the boys played like it from the first whistle," Balsar said.
"Our performance wasn't perfect, with periods of patchiness, but we toughed it out and beat the second best team in the league - it's a huge pin the boys can put on their chests."
Skipper O'Shannessy led the way for the Cubs with 19 points, while Morris (13), Costain (11) and Leslie (11) also scored strongly for the hosts.
"Brayden [Morris] was fantastic on both sides of the ball and really proved the difference," Balsar said.
"He really set the tone on defence and was the catalyst to our free-flowing fast break game, which came off the back of the big boys dominating the battle on the glass.
"As we have done all year, we played as a cohesive unit and it once again got us over the line."
This win, coupled with the Illawarra Hawks loss to the Newcastle Hunters 87-71, keeps the Cubs dream alive, heading into the final round of the regular season.
As it stands, both the Tigers and Hawks sit with an 11-10 record after 21 rounds, with Illawarra holding the spilt on Balsar's troops.
But if the Cubs defeat Manly-Warringah this Saturday at the Den from 1pm, and the Hawks fall to Hills, the black and golds will qualify for the finals, in their first season in division one.
"Saturday's win keeps the dream alive but we've still got a job in front of us," Balsar said.
"We can only control what we can control, which is winning our game and hoping the other result goes our way.
"Whatever happens, I couldn't be prouder of all the boys and their development this season."