SEABL

Could China bring Tigers hopes to life?

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Tigers fans listening to SEN this morning were surprised to learn that Andrew Gaze is currently in China on personal business which has lead to speculation that Mr Gaze could pick up some sponsors for the Melbourne Tigers SEABL effort while he is doing his business over there.

While it seems China is an odd place for chasing sponsors, it is not too far-fetched considering China’s rise as a world power and also the Tigers had Chinese sponsorship during it’s successful NBL finals campaigns of the late 00’s and so perhaps the Chinese companies who had some dealings with the Gaze family may feel inclined to go around with them again only this time be part of a new adventure.

Then again Andrew Gaze could be just putting his feet up watching the Chinese play ball and maybe even call in on former Tigers player and Tigers coaching rival Brian Goorjian or some other pals over there, speculation can sometimes be a wondrous thing.

Tigers fans ready to roar their support

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While the Tigers consortium is busy trying to secure business support for the SEABL plan, Tigers fans are eagerly awaiting to hear about the ways they can contribute to help the Tigers get back on their feet sooner rather than later, fans are hoping they will be able to contribute via bank deposit or Paypal to give as many fans as possible an opportunity to voluntarily contribute funding.

Another option thought up by fans for consideration by the consortium is crowdfunding although legal experts will have to look into the legalities of such an option before it can be given major consideration, those who are supporters of crowdfunding believe that if a Formula One team can do it then there is no reason why the Tigers can do so as well and hope it gets the tick of approval.

Tigers fans are also hoping to give the consortium the fans prospective on what fans would like to see and buy to help keep the cash rolling in for the Tigers to ensure long term success.

United respond to Tigers building plans

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Melbourne United have responded to the plans by a consortium aiming to restore the Melbourne Tigers to the highest levels of Basketball by repeating that they own the name and history to the proud club.

Melbourne United CEO Vince Crivelli was at first open to a new Melbourne Tigers by saying;

 ‘I think the board and (United owners) Larry (Kestelman) and Michael (Slepoy) would listen to anything – they want to see the game thrive’

Things suddenly taken a turn with Crivelli seemingly extinguishing any feelings of goodwill by next saying the following.

“I’d love to see an NBL team come in and match our funding of Basketball Victoria,” he said.

“We genuinely see ourselves as the organisation who are here to serve the game of basketball at NBL level.

“That is why it is ‘Melbourne United’ as opposed to Melbourne Tigers and its one team for all of Melbourne to get behind.”

The Age newspaper reports that United’s hold of the Tigers name in semi professional sport is a gray area and both sides are negotiating on the release which appears to be a contradiction of Crivelli’s comments unless Vince Crivelli was talking about the NBL name which is professional basketball compared to SEABL’s semi professional state.

Melbourne Tigers are understandably curious about why Kestelman, Slepoy and Crivelli did not fund Basketball Victoria when the team was the Melbourne Tigers and waited until they were a new entity to do so, it is a question that will most likely never receive an answer and will leave Tigers fans no doubt wondering what else was held back in the 2013/14 NBL season.

Tigers fans are confident that the Melbourne Tigers once they are in SEABL and are making good business will be able to match or beat Melbourne United’s contribution to SEABL and show that Melbourne United is not the lone voice in the state of affairs of Victorian basketball.

Melbourne Tigers fans are now eagerly awaiting announcements on ways that they can participate in helping the club get it’s SEABL plans underway while calling on Larry Kestelman and Michael Slepoy to be reasonable by negotiating fairly with the Tigers consortium to hand over the name and history at an affordable price so the SEABL journey can begin without problems and the expected to be slow going NBL buildup can start simultaneously as well.

Tigers expansion plans now public

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Melbourne Tigers fans woke up this morning to the news that all the speculation about the long road towards return of the Melbourne Tigers to the NBL is true and the work to make it happen is underway, the Tigers will not be in the NBL for a couple of years for finances will need to be secured to make a re-entry possible but the team will make every effort to get there.

Nigel Purchase and Andrew Gaze were both talked to on SEN during the day with Nigel\s appearance on SEN’s ‘Hungry for Sport’ available at https://soundcloud.com/sen1116/hungry-for-sport-nigel-purchase-nbl-veteran while Andrew’s appearance of SEN’s ‘Harf Time’ is available at

The Melbourne Tigers are planning to have a team compete in SEABL which is considered by many to be equal or superior to the NBL before the team either expands or returns solely to the NBL, it is hoped that by going the SEABL route the Tigers return to the NBL will be successful from the resumption of the team’s 30 year existence in the league.

Melbourne Tigers will also be working to provide women the opportunity to play for the famed club in the WNBL, the Tigers entry into the WNBL would no doubt provide a boost to the league which has enjoyed success over the last couple of years compared to the struggles of the NBL.

Tigers fans are encouraged to keep their eyes and ears open in the coming weeks and months as more details will come to hand and there is no doubt now that fans will be eager to participate in any move to make the Tigers return happen sooner rather than later.

What is the definition of a fan?

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What is a fan? A fan can be something that cools you down or it means that you support or follow a team or a band or some organization.

A frequent argument between United fans and Tigers fans has been the subject of membership with some United fans blaming Melbourne Tigers fans for not buying enough memberships and not attending enough games while proclaiming they had membership for years and attended every game.

Not every fan has a credit card and some don’t have the finances (like at this current economic moment) to pay off memberships if they do have a credit card, some people live too far away to make use of the membership options and some had no clue what was on offer and let’s face it finding out such things can be a problem if you don’t know where to look or know how to do what is needed to fill in online forms but regardless of the above situations those who cannot get membership are no less of a fan than somebody with membership.

The same can go for Merchandise, some people can afford every new item while some still use jerseys and items from previous seasons sometimes because they love what they’ve got and others because they can’t just go out and buy something new unless they want to fall a little behind bills or go a little hungry for a week or two but no matter what you have, you are no more or less a fan than the next person.

To this writer a fan is somebody who follows their team through the good times and the bad, every fan is treated equally no matter if they have membership or not, no matter if they’ve attended a hundred games or haven’t been to one before, no matter if they’ve been a fan for 30 years or 5 years, every person who supports a team like the Melbourne Tigers is an equal.

What should the Tigers wear?

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Let’s say that the Melbourne Tigers enter SEABL and has all the licenses it needs to wear any NBL era jersey it wants, what would be the perfect look for the Tigers?.

Would you go for a Red and Yellow look? perhaps a Red and Orange one? completely Yellow? Red and Yellow with Tigers stripes on the sides? Any of the other Tigers jersey combinations? Some say the completely Yellow look was too generic and identity taking while some may think the 1993 jersey is a little dated but others think it still has everything fans desire.

There are so many choices and no doubt it would be difficult for the decision makers to come up with the look that will please all fans but it will be fun for fans to look and discuss all the possible options and perhaps persuade the powers that be to pick the one that is liked best.

Tigers v Bullets images (1) images Melbourne+Tigers+Headshots+Session+t0w2HVNjjxwl

Is SEABL a good idea or a bad idea?

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The idea of the Melbourne Tigers going to SEABL before getting back into the NBL has been widely thought of, some may think that SEABL is a step backwards because the NBL to be the top league in Australia but on the other hand many believe that SEABL is superior to the NBL and is not top dogs because it has no television deal in place that could catapult it into the public’s consciousness.

While the crowds may be smaller, the amount of teams in SEABL tower over the NBL giving truth to the saying that ‘competition breeds improvement’ for the Tigers would learn plenty from SEABL before going back to the NBL, time in SEABL could also allow the Tigers to build up finances in order to re-establish itself in the top NBL teams when a return happens.

Another possibility could be that the Tigers could exist in both SEABL and the NBL as well as BigV and the VJBL becoming one big franchise so the public can see the Tigers basically anytime and anywhere knowing that players will give it their all every time in every league.

Whatever happens it is exciting times for Tigers fans even if it doesn’t look like much is happening, fans are taking a fresh look at everything to find an outcome that will bring the Tigers roaring back into Basketball while breaking free from Melbourne United and letting the two teams stand apart.

Keep on roaring Tigers fans.

Fans call for SEABL to NBL route for Tigers

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Melbourne Tigers fans are hoping that Larry Kestelman and Michael Slepoy do the right thing for Basketball and release the Melbourne Tigers name and history so others can start a new era of the Tigers in the NBL by entering into the next SEABL season before making slowly making it back into the NBL.

Fans have indicated that they are willing to donate money to any high profile group that is willing to take on the Tigers name and history to begin this rebuild, fans have said that they hope it is the original Melbourne Tigers (the one in the BigV etc) that get the name and history back for they have indicated that they would follow the Gaze family as well as former Tigers players and staff in the organization anywhere.

it is understood by many that hundreds of thousands will be needed in order for the organization to get everything it needs including getting a SEABL team going but if past players and staff, fans and big and small businesses join together will go from an impossibility towards being a certainty.

Former Melbourne Tigers players and staff are urged to stand up and speak out on social media and the traditional forms of media in favor of the effort to get Kestelman and Slepoy to release the Tigers name and history and to support the Melbourne Tigers organization in getting the name and history of it’s NBL spinoff and start the journey of coming back to the NBL.

Those who are setting on the fence should consider this, the NBL was always good with two Basketball teams, the Tigers are needed in the NBL, future Tigers vs United matches would have lots of spice particularly since United usurped the Tigers to sit in the throne of Melbourne NBL teams and lastly United can stand on it’s own two feet without being embroiled in a Civil War over where and who the club should be.