The Melbourne Tigers Youth Championship Womens team’s season has heartbreakingly ended with a 82 to 70 loss to Bulleen at MSAC on Sunday.

Bulleen were just too good on the day with an excellent 51.9% Field Goal percentage as well as 40% from the 3 point line compared to Melbourne’s 30.6% and 30% from Field Goal and 3 point range.

Bulleen blew Melbourne away in the first half 41 to 21 before Melbourne fought back to win the third and fourth quarters to trim the margin down to twelve points at the final whistle.

Briana Babic top scored for the Tigers with 25 points from 25 minutes on the court, Peri Kalka was the top rebounder with 12 and Ellen Kett led assists for the Tigers with four.

With this Preliminary Final loss the season has ended with just two losses all season, a record that the ladies should feel really proud of for they have played to the best of their ability all season long, Tigers fans are proud of the the team’s achievements this season and wish them a great offseason before the new campaign starts in 2016.

With the BigV season over for all but one of the Melbourne Tigers senior teams, Tigers fans can start to think back to the days where NBL success was coming on a championship playoff basis.

In 1993, the air of now Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park (then Flinders Park) was filled by the leaps and slam dunks by Lanard Copeland, the almost perfect shooting from near and far by Andrew Gaze and the roar of Tigers fans as the Tigers marched towards the 1993 title.

Thankfully Tigers fans in 2015 have a two minute and fifteen second compilation of the Tigers legends terrorizing the league, this compiliation has been seen over 21,000 times for 37 likes and 2 unlikes, The two dislikes are mostly likely to have come from Perth Wildcats fans who still curse the Tigers for taking the title away from them that year.

WANMU hopes fans will enjoy this great piece of Basketball history like we have whilst dreaming of a successful 2016 for the Tigers in the Big V competition.

The Melbourne Tigers had a successful weekend as the Tigers Men easily defeated McKinnon 78 to 57 and the Victorian Youth Championship Women’s side defeated Diamond Valley in their Elimination Final clash 88 to 35.

Dillion Stith and Dexter Kernich-Drew scored for the Tigers with 27 and 24 points each with the duo scoring 51 out of the Tigers 78 points for the game.

For the Victorian Youth Championship Women’s team, Briana Babic and Alex August-Leifi top scored with 19 and 15 points each as the Tigers ran over the Eagles at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

Melbourne’s Men end their season with 7 wins (3 wins from their last six matches) whilst the Women continue on in their quest to bring home a title and with names like Phoebe and Courtney Gaze as well as Lucy Purchase in the side, long time Tigers fans would flock to the games to see the next generation of Tigers stars.

Melbourne Tigers Mens team lost to Bulleen in overtime 74 to 69 last Saturday night but the result while disappointing has shown that the Tigers have had a competitive season.

The Tigers are set to finish third last with a 6-17 record although when taking into account several Tigers losses ten points and under, the season has been an great improvement on the 2014 season.

The team takes on McKinnon in the final match of the season which is set for 8pm this Saturday at Bentleigh Secondary College.

Tigers fans who have watched the stats throughout the season with interest have noticed that one area that needs to be improved is their shooting accuracy.
The Tigers had the oppportunity to bury Bulleen but let many opportunities slip by missing shots, Dillion Stith was one player who had trouble by missing his first nine shots at two point range before steadying to becoming the Tigers second highest points scorer on the night.

Tigers Women’s team had a 5-15 record for the season and will no doubt be looking to snap up the services of the players from the Tigers Victorian Youth Championship Women’s side who compilied a 21-1 record for the season.

The Youth Women’s team will take on Diamond Valley in the Elimination Final on Saturday night, Tigers fans can catch the action from 12pm at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

Victorian Youth Championship Men’s team had a 8-14 record for the season but is the second best team for the Tigers this year and there is no doubt the Tigers Men’s team will be interested in the players for 2016.

While the majority of Tigers teams have had a losing season, there is still plenty to cheer about in the sporting capital of the world.

Melbourne Tigers Men side defeated Hawthorn last Saturday night 110 to 69 to record their sixth win of the season.

This win is the Tigers second consecutive win and places the Tigers in 10th spot just ahead of Diamond Valley who also have six wins.

Hawthorn, Eltham and Whittlesea are one win and two wins (Whittlesea) ahead of the Tigers on the BigV ladder with the Tigers a good chance to pass Hawthorn and or Eltham with 12th place Sherbooke the Tigers next opponent before the Tigers take on league leaders Ringwood in a test of the Tigers abilities on Sunday.

In the last five games, the Tigers have won three out of five making them equal fourth of teams that have won games in that period with Ringwood and Corio Bay winning all five, Waverley winning four, followed by Melbourne and McKinnon with three.

This news is exciting with fans starting to revel in the level of success that Melbourne is having and if the side continues this way there is little doubt that memberships will rapidly rise as more Tigers NBL fans make their way back to their Tigers BigV home.

Go Tigers!

In the 1990’s the Melbourne Tigers had legendary battles against the South East Melbourne Magic in the NBL, now tomorrow night the Melbourne Tigers will be taking on Hawthorn Magic in a game that could propel the Tigers higher up the BigV ladder.

Hawthorn Magic have no relation to the SE Melbourne Magic but the Tigers need to play with the intensity of it’s former NBL spinoff to secure the win and stay away from last place.

Tigers fans are excited by the team’s recent form with Dillion Stith, Josh White and Dexter Kernich-Drew all in good form and if all three fire then Hawthorn could be in some trouble.

Sherbrooke (5-13) and Diamond Valley (5-14) take on each other with the winner moving on to six wins and potentially end up ahead of Melbourne, Diamond Valley also play Waverley on the weekend but would need to play like pros in order to knock off the third placed team.

The Tigers Men play at MSAC from Saturday July 4 at 8pm.

Tigers Women take on Ringwood in a very tough assignment away from home (The Rings, 8pm July 4), the side is third last but can still climb up in positions with several teams only one or two wins in front of the Tigers,

The Tigers Women took a massive loss to Southern Peninsular and are no doubt eager to put in a solid effort to try upset Ringwood who are flying high near the top of the ladder.

WANMU wishes both teams the best and will report on the results as they come to hand,

Melbourne Tigers hero Chris Goulding has joined Melbourne United.

Goulding was one of the Tigers heroes as Chris Anstey coached the Tigers to the finals in 2013/14, Goulding’s high scoring brought Tigers fans to their feet as he racked up scores that reminded fans of Andrew Gaze’s scoring sprees during the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s.

In the lead up to the 2014/15 season, Goulding decided to take up an opportunity to play overseas and was released by United without playing a game for them in 2014/15 but the team has their man again which will no doubt boost interest in the 2015/16 season.

Melbourne Tigers Men yesterday defeated Werribee 85 to 66 to score their fifth win of the 2015 Big V season.

The win places Melbourne a win off the bottom of the ladder and just two wins behind Hawthorn who are currently sitting in 8th position.

Dillion Stith continues to have an impressive season with the Tiger running second on league points averages with 21.8 points per game while Dexter Kernich-Drew has averaged 26 points from his four games this season with his inclusion in the team seemingly fitting the Tigers recent run of form.

Melbourne have Hawthorn on 8pm Saturday July 4 at MSAC, this match will be important for if the Tigers win it will increase their chances of avoiding the wooden spoon and if results go their way take 10th spot, equal with ninth and be a game behind Hawthorn in 8th.

Go Tigers!

By now most of the NBL fans are aware that Wollongong Hawks are now back to the Illawarra Hawks, the question WANMU are wondering is why?

The NBL is now geared towards business and is now lead by the man who removed the Melboune Tigers name and history because he considered the Tigers history to be selfish by not including the rest of Melbourne’s ex teams, it should be noted that Larry Kestelman now owns majority of the league with his workers working at NBL HQ as well as owning a slice of Melbourne United which is a conflict of interest although nobody is speaking about it.

If the Melboure Tigers name was considered selfish of Tigers fans then is the people of Wollongong considered selfish for having the Hawks?

Would Perth have to become the WA Wildcats or Adelaide the SA 36er’s or perhaps the Sydney Kings become the New South Wales Kings because the NBL (some say KBL as in Kestelman Basketball League) want a wider area of people to become fans of the team?

It’s nice the Illawarra area got their team back but the reasons of the area getting their team back has a smell just like the one that came from United when that team came to Melbourne and it is a smell that hasn’t completely gone away.