Rangers rue the game

By Paul Pickering
IT SEEMS unthinkable, but the Dandenong Rangers have surely been ousted as the title favourites in the Big V Championship Men’s division.
The Rangers ran into a rampant Melbourne Tigers side in their qualifying final on Saturday night, succumbing 113-111 in a classic shootout at Stud Road.
It was supposed to be a meaningless clash, with both teams assured a berth in this weekend’s sudden-death preliminary finals.
But somebody obviously forgot to tell the players.
Emotions ran high – and tempers flared – throughout the playoff opener, as the referees struggled to keep control of a fiercely competitive encounter.
The Tigers went into the game looking to extend their 16-game unbeaten streak, but their task grew more difficult within minutes of the tip-off.
Melbourne was already missing their leading scorer in injured forward Daniel Johnson (wrist), and centre Adrien Sturt did his teammates no favours when he picked up his fifth foul midway through the first term.
Sturt sat out the rest of the first half on the bench, so it was up to Melbourne’s NBL stars Daryl Corletto (41 points) and Tommy Greer (33 points) to pick up the slack.
Greer had 14 of the Tigers’ 19 points in the first quarter, while Corletto exploded for 15 in the second as Melbourne clung to a 56-57 halftime deficit.
The expectation was that Dandenong’s frontline of Brent Hobba (30), Ash Cannan (22) and Vince Inglima (22) would gradually overpower the Tigers, but Melbourne had the artillery to match.
Corletto took over in the third, dropping another 20 points on a series of long-range bombs and deft runners inside the key.
The Tigers surged to a 98-91 lead on a Greer dunk with eight minutes remaining in the final term, before Dandenong guard Dwayne Campbell (13) and Inglima inspired a fight-back.
The Rangers hit the lead on a coast-to-coast drive from Campbell with three minutes left. And when Greer reacted angrily to incidental contact with Inglima on the next play, it looked as if the pressure had overcome the visitors.
Dandenong had every chance to clinch the victory in the dying minutes, but Inglima and Hobba failed to convert from the charity stripe.
With his team trailing 109-111 and 7.2 seconds left on the clock, Hobba missed two free-throws.
He then watched in agony as Greer iced the game with a successful pair at the other end.
Rangers coach Warren Dawson was left ruing some undisciplined acts and missed opportunities.
“I think we let things get to us a bit,” Dawson conceded.
“We had a technical foul and two unsportsmanlike fouls, so that’s six extra free-throws that they got, and then we missed 10 (for the game).
“At this level – against a good opponent – that’s the game-breaker.”
Dawson commended both teams for the standard of the game, but he lamented some critical defensive lapses.
“I think that’s probably the most any team has scored against us in the last four of fives years,” he said.
Dandenong will now have to overcome Sandringham in their one-off preliminary final at Stud Road on Saturday night, while Melbourne will host Waverley.
If Melbourne and Dandenong progress, the Tigers will now have home court advantage in the three-game grand final series.
“The focus for us now is to not get in the dumps about this,” Dawson said.
“It was a disappointing loss, but it really meant nothing either way.”
Meanwhile, Dandenong’s Championship Women continued their dominance over Waverley, taking the first game of their semi-final series 52-47.
The Rangers – led by Faith Probst (15, 11 rebounds) and Mel Colcott (10, 8) – held a 39-38 advantage at three-quarter-time, but locked down on the Falcons in the final term to clinch a crucial away victory.
Ironically, Waverley’s challenge was guided by Dandenong WNBL player Larissa Anderson (19, 8) and former Ranger Kathleen MacLeod (15).
It was Dandenong’s fourth win over the Falcons in as many games this season, so the Rangers will be expected to close the series out in the second clash at home on Saturday night.
The women’s game will begin at 6pm, with the Ranger men to follow at 8pm.