The Shoalhaven Tigers have made it four-in-a-row with two strong victories over the Hornsby Ku Ring Gai Spiders and St George Saints White.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It has been a great month with the Tigers playing some of their best basketball of the year heading into the most crucial point of the season.
READ MORE:
From the jump the Tigers looked like the stronger team, with their much improved defence yet again fueling a potent attack.
Kyle Leslie put forth a dominant display, with the microwave forward scoring 25 while knocking down five of the teams six three-pointers.
"Our defense came out really strong against Hornsby," Leslie said.
"That was a big one, we wanted to send a message because we are set to play them in the quarter finals in two weeks time."
Dane Jensen had his best game of the season with 12 points while continuously gobbling up a number of rebounds.
"Dano was huge in the third quarter, he came out with energy and toughness while rebounding and knocking down free throws which allowed us to slowly build on our lead," Leslie said.
The Tigers continued to pull away in the fourth period, winning the match 76-54.
They weren't done however as they followed it up with a 114-70 win the next day against the St George Saints White.
Leslie yet again led the way with 30 points, while skipper Bruce Ozolins and Jake Wilson both had strong games with 17 and 16 respectively.
It was a full team effort across the weekend for the Tigers with everyone scoring at least one basket in both games while all chipping in defensively.
The Saints never stood a chance, only reaching the 70 point mark as a result of the Tigers taking down the intensity of their defense near the end. It appeared from the jump that this was going to a pure statement win.
"The Sunday game against the Saints was just a brilliant environment with a great crowd turnout," Leslie said.
"A few defensive lapses in the second half allowed them to get to 70 but the bench guys got in a lot and did a great job and we finished with a strong win for the crowd."
With this win the Tigers have solidified third place in the competition with one round to go, with their main focus being a rematch against the first place Hills Hornets (17-2).
"It was a great weekend for us but all we are focused on now are Hills," Leslie said.
"We were undermanned last time we played and honesty we underestimated them but we've grown a lot since then which they'll end up finding out about soon."
The last time the two sides clashed, the Hornets came out on top 104-87 with it being Leslie's first game of the season, fresh off a plane from America.
Hills shot the lights out against a depleted Tigers team, but with Shoalhaven back in form and having regained it's depth, it may definitely be a different story heading forward.
That game will tip-off next weekend on the Tigers home court at Shoalhaven Indoor Sports Centre at 2pm on Saturday August 13.