Perth Loses Top Spot As Tigers Run Riot
The Age
Monday August 30, 1993
The Perth Wildcats fell from grace at the National Tennis Centre last night, losing top spot on the National Basketball League table in a humbling 13-point defeat by the Melbourne Tigers.
The Wildcats appeared to have put their disappointing display against Sydney on Sunday well behind them from the tip-off, but their resolve lasted just two quarters.
After the main break, Perth was comprehensively outclassed by Melbourne and the final score of 109-96 perhaps did not adequately reflect the Tigers' dominance in the second half.
Perth has gone from outright leadership of the NBL to second on percentage points behind South East Melbourne. The Tigers have consolidated their hold on fourth spot.
The victory was Melbourne's eighth in a row at home. The Tigers were in a mess for much of the first half but it was a credit to their discipline that they were able to regroup.
Everything the Wildcats did in the first half to hamper Melbourne's progress came back to haunt them. Initially they played superbly in defence, grabbing several steals to get out on the break and shutting down Melbourne's inside game. Andrew Vlahov was having by far the better of his duel with Mark Bradtke and the strong shooting of Andrew Gaze was largely responsible for keeping in touch early on.
At the other end, Vlahov, Scott Fisher and James Crawford were having a field day as the Tigers looked out of their depth defensively.
Fisher needed to be benched early on after having dislocated a finger during a lay-up, but Perth coach Adrian Hurley got valuable minutes out of his replacement, veteran Steve Davis. Perth appeared to have lost little.
At the start of the second quarter, Perth stretched the gap to 14 points. It achieved that break through a spectacular dunk from Crawford. He was fouled in the process and hit the free throw for a three-point play.
Perhaps things became too easy for the Wildcats. As they started to cruise, Melbourne wormed its way back into the game. Bradtke lifted and Gaze continued to shoot well.
A key moment for Perth came one minute 5 seconds before half-time. The Wildcats were leading by nine and out in the open floor, with guard Eric Watterson looking for a lay-up. Fisher, in his efforts to stop Bradtke from reaching Watterson, was called for an intentional foul.
Bradtke made both free throws and Melbourne scored through the resultant possession to narrow the gap to five.
The wheels then fell off for the Wildcats. Melbourne's defence was galvanised into action as it proceeded to close down Perth's inside game and the offence flowed.
Gaze hit three successive three-pointers, and was joined in demoralising the Perth defence by Lanard Copeland. The American had been reasonably quiet until the third period, but he came to life with 12 of his 24 points.
Perth could not take a trick. The Wildcats continually made basic errors and poor decisions, thwarting whatever chance they had of getting back into contention.
Gaze top-scored with 42 points, while Bradtke hit 14 and grabbed 15 rebounds. Crawford hit 25 for the Wildcats, while Ricky Grace hit 23.
MELBOURNE TIGERS 109 (A Gaze 42, L Copeland 24, M Bradtke 14) d PERTH WILDCATS 96 (J Crawford 25, R Grace 23, S Fisher 15), at the Tennis Centre.
© 1993 The Age