April 1 is not a joke this year as the Melbourne Tigers start playing in NBL1 South competition for the first time in 2023.
It is true that there hasn’t been a whole lot to say in the last couple of years, life sometimes gets too busy to sit down and write down the joys and the frustrations that a season brings and last year was one of frustration.
Regardless of the results, life always feels good when the Melbourne Tigers are part of Basketball, it is one of those constants in life that is always needed.
It is good that YouTube can be turned on and see how things are going, it is not traditional TV, but it does the job as you can watch it on a TV and the quality is pretty good and the commentators are informative.
It is hard to know if the Tigers will do well this year, the Womens team have brought in experience this year after having a largely youthful team last year which wasn’t a bad idea, you got to get the kilometres into players and giving youth players a run in the NBL1 competition gives the Big V competition that extra bit of oomph and moves development along.
The Men could do well this year, when they get going, they are a great team but when their shooting goes cold the opposition makes the Tigers pay every time hence why last year a frustrating year (thanks Channel Ten) of basketball.
They say Saturday nights all right for fighting well Saturday night will be all right for basketball.
BigV
Petition update – November 11 2015
The petition is doing well at this time, there is currently 131 signatures and with the surge of interest in the Melbourne Tigers it is hoped that the amount of signatures will rise to challenge the 150 signature mark real soon.
For those not in the know, the petition is calling on the owners of Melbourne United to give up the Melbourne Tigers name, colours and history so the original Melbourne Tigers who is the mother/father of the club going around as Melbourne United can participate in competitions higher than the BigV as well as be allowed to do other things to expand the team’s income.
As it stands right now, the Tigers cannot compete in the NBL, SEABL and CLB which are either semi-professional or professional and this is why getting those rights is important because those three competitions are well known and fans want the team to be part of the action.
It is hoped that we, the fans of the Melbourne Tigers can unite in this petition to show the rights owners that we truly believe in our Tigers and a separation of the Tigers and United is good for Basketball particularly in the future as there is no doubt the two teams will meet on court.
To visit/sign the petition please visit the site below.
https://www.change.org/p/larry-kestelman-vince-crivelli-michael-slepoy-larry-kestelman-release-the-tigers-intellectual-property
Go Tigers
124 Tigers fans unite, will you join them?
At this present time, 124 Tigers fans and supporters of fans belief in the team have united on Change.org in the long written about aim to bring the Tigers name, colour and history back to the original Tigers and their home at MSAC.
124 people is not a small number but it can be much bigger, it can be so much bigger because the Tigers are iconic before on a local and international level from VJBL to BigV and NBL the Tigers have been there and so have the players, staff and fans.
If you believe that the Tigers should be given the right to choose it’s own destiny away from United then please take the few seconds to sign the petition, your few seconds mean and do so much for the Tigers and their supporters.
The Tigers have the fans to make things happen, the Tigers have friends of the fans to make things happen, the Tigers have family of the fans to make things happen, all you got to do if you haven’t signed is decide on whether or not to make all of it happen.
Be united to demand to be divided from United, Go Tigers!
Tigers on the prowl for wins
After both the Tigers Men’s and Women’s teams scored wins last weekend over Sherbrooke and Eltham respectively, The Tigers teams are on the prowl for further success this weekend.
The Tigers Men take on Corio Bay at MSAC at 8pm April 25 at and Waverley on April 26 from 2:30pm at the Waverley Basketball Centre.
The Tigers Women aim to go three straight when they take on Waverley at the Waverley Basketball Centre at 12:30pm Sunday April 26.
Tigers fans are really excited with the Tigers teams recent form and hope the form continues this week against the quality opposition.
Tigers fans are reminded that memberships are still available to purchase, Details can be found on the many Tigers Facebook pages and groups.
WANMU will inform fans of the results as soon as news comes to hand.
Tigers Women get first win for 2015
The Melbourne Tigers Women’s team have scored their first win of the 2015 BigV season by downing Warrandyte 64 to 58 in front of their home crowd last Saturday night.
This win will no doubt be a major morale booster for the Tigers who were belted the previous week by Hume City, This win shows that the team can rebound from disheartening losses and it is hoped this win will give the Tigers the confidence and belief to continue to win games this season.
Meanwhile the Melbourne Tigers Men’s team failed to capitalize on it’s win against Hume City by falling to the previous winless Whittlesea 76 to 66., With both Diamond Creek and Whittlesea winning games on the weekend it means the Tigers battle to stay off the bottom of the ladder has tightened back up.
Round 5 will tip off for the Tigers on Saturday night with the Women travelling to Eltham High School to take on Eltham Wildcats at 6pm while the Men are once again at MSAC from 8pm taking on the Sherbrooke Suns, WANMU will report on the game as soon as news comes to hand.
Tigers trump Broncos on Broncos turf
The Melbourne Tigers Men’s team scored their first win of the 2015 BigV season last Saturday night by defeating the Lanard Copeland coached Hume City Broncos 90 to 63.
The result is a major confidence booster as Hume City has had an impressive start this season under Copeland’s coaching and were expected to add more early season misery to the Tigers season but the Tigers taught the Broncos a lesson on their own turf by taking out the win.
The Melbourne Tigers Women’s team unfortunately suffered a massive loss by going down to the Broncos 105 to 30, while this result is no doubt disappointing to the ladies and their fans, The ladies should feel good in the knowledge that they fought out the game and that with time and practice great results will follow for the only way from here is up.
The next round will take place on April 11 with the Women’s team taking on Warrandyte (0-4) at 6pm and the Men’s team will be taking on Whittlesea (0-4) at 8pm with both teams playing at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (click on link for map).
Many thanks to Brett Be for taking pictures of the game including the one above showing Andrew Gaze in action as Tigers coach.
Copeland and Gaze to battle on the sidelines
Andrew Gaze’s Melbourne Tigers will be taking on Lanard Copeland’s Hume City Broncos in their BigV clash this Saturday night (March 28) in a game the promises to be interesting for Tigers fans who get to see the two NBL legends (and good friends) try to outwit each other with their team’s on court.
The game will commence from 8pm at the Broadmeadows Basketball Stadium with the Tigers (0-2) hoping to win their first game of the season while Hume City (2-1) hope to continue their Top 5 form.
The Melbourne Tigers women’s team (0-2) is also taking on Hume City (2-0) at Broadmeadows Basketball Stadium on Saturday night with their game commencing from 6pm, Tigers fans are encouraged to if possible to attend this game as well as the Men’s game to give the side support and encouragement as they too seek to open their win account against a side that has won their two games by an average of 21 points.
Tigers fans snap up BigV memberships
Melbourne Tigers fans have started to sign up for memberships in the BigV team as the 2015 BigV season nears it’s beginning.
The Melbourne Tigers are offering a range of memberships that are financially reachable for the majority of fans with Armchair Membership being the lowest at $25 with Membership Red and Family Membership being the highest at $110, each membership level guarantees a minimum of a membership card, newsletter and a Tigers cap with those who want the higher Tigers membership levels awarded more perks.
Every purchase of a membership will bring the Tigers that little bit closer to making it’s way to the SEABL competition or other high quality competitions in 2016 as the team and it’s fans seek to be once again the top major basketball team in Melbourne.
A membership form can be downloaded by clicking on the membership form below and send it to membership@melbournebasketball.com.au or email the same address to enquire or to start the membership buying process.
United Baller’s 2014/15 Finals hopes officially over
The United Baller’s finals hopes are now over with a massive loss to the Cairns Taipans tonight, the side was already under pressure with Adelaide defeating New Zealand earlier in the week forcing the equation that United must win all four of their games with Adelaide losing all three of theirs for United to make the finals.
United’s bosses, coaches and players are no doubt relieved that their torturous season is over, from the arrival of United on May 20 2014 they’ve seen the departure of many Tigers fans, the loss of Chris Anstey after one regular season game, slow buildup of crowds, a solid finals spot slip slide away, D-Mac becoming more furious with every loss, United Ballers losing to the bottom teams that all but crippled their season, players criticizing others in the newspapers and now knocked out of finals contention.
While there are still three regular season games for the United Ballers to play, there is no doubt that plans for the 2015/16 season are now underway, many suspect D-Mac will not be the 2015/16 coach and the future of the imports is questionable, this season has proven that the throwing around of millions of dollars doesn’t guarantee success particularly when loyalty and harmony are missing from the team both on the court and in the stands.
Many Tigers fans are celebrating tonight for the Tigers made the 2013/14 finals season without sacrificing so much for a boost in finances but it must be said there is a tinge of sadness for many of the players and staff who are great members of the Tigers family are at United and do not deserve to be front row witnesses to such an imploding end to United’s season.
The defiant Tigers fans will be cheering on the Tigers BigV team in their upcoming BigV season this year and hope the side makes the finals to prove that the Tigers and not United are Melbourne.
Who are Melbourne? Melbourne Tigers are Melbourne!.
Don’t despair Tigers fans, BigV is getting closer
2015 is well underway now that the first week of the year is gone and life is returning to normal, sure the NBL is still going and that is very depressing for Tigers fans as the Tigers aren’t in action but fans can take comfort in knowing that we are one week closer to the Tigers playing in the 2015 BigV competition.
Tigers fans have reported the affect that the Tigers not being in the NBL has had on young children for some have asked their parents why they haven’t seen a game yet, it is no doubt difficult to explain the situation to children but one way is that the Tigers will be back in action during winter and they will be seen again and again when the time comes.
The BigV Tigers may have little profile compared to the NBL Tigers but with NBL Tigers fans sharing information on the team there is little doubt that the team’s profile will rise and new heroes will be cheered on by Tigers fans young and old.
We Are Melbourne Tigers Fans 