ID :
25440
Sun, 10/19/2008 - 22:04
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/25440
The shortlink copeid
Dragons surge into NBL top two
Surging South Dragons stamped themselves as legitimate NBL title contenders in a round which highlighted the sport's contrasting fortunes in Australia's two biggest cities. South (6-2 win-loss record) moved into second spot on the ladder with wins on successive nights over Sydney Spirit, 106-101 and against cross-town rivals
Melbourne, 108-80 on Saturday night.
The victories left the Victorian club trailing only New Zealand (4-1) on the ladder
after five rounds.
The Breakers completed their five-game home stand to start the season with a 120-108
win over struggling Gold Coast (0-7), who also crashed 102-87 to third placed Cairns
(4-2).
Townsville (3-2) was fourth, after their three-match win streak was snapped by Perth
(5-5), who scored a 107-93 away win over the Crocs.
It was a good week for the Wildcats, who earlier scored an 89-77 home win over
Wollongong (3-4), the Hawks bouncing back to defeat Adelaide 105-95 in Wollongong.
A crowd of just under 1,600 turned up to the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Friday
night as Dragons coach Brian Goorjian made his first return to the venue in which he
had so much success with the now-defunct Sydney Kings.
Back in Melbourne on Saturday night, 9,308 packed into Hisense Arena the following
night to watch the local derby.
"We as a league, it's important that Melbourne and Sydney are thriving and there was
definitely a contrast between the two nights," Goorjian said
The Dragons completed their double despite the absence of Boomers forward Mark
Worthington, who was sidelined with an injured hamstring.
Goorjian hoped Worthington would be fit for their next match against Cairns, but was
delighted by the performances of his new-look side.
"There was an emotional package to it with (me) being associated with Sydney and
coming back and playing the cross-town rivals," said Goorjian, who led the Kings to
three NBL titles before the club dropped out of the competition following at the end
of last season.
"Secondly, we had big challenges on court. Sydney had won three in a row and the
Tigers everybody says had possibly the best team assembled.
"We went into the two games with our best player not being available.
"It was a great weekend, we got contributions from everybody.
"This weekend has made the start of the season better than expected and I think the
Melbourne game was a level above how we've played to this point and what it shows is
we could become a pretty good team."
He was especially happy with the efforts of youngster Joe Ingles, who scored 17 and
26 over the two games and import forward Tremmell Darden who notched 22 and 20.
Goorjian said a communication breakdown was responsible for him not attending the
mandatory post-game press conference in Sydney and he might contact the NBL on
Monday to clarify his absence, which would normally involve a $1000 fine.
Breakers' coach Andrej Lemanis said his team was looking forward to going on the
road after their sizzling start at home.
"We feel four out of five wins puts us in a good position to start our road campaign
and we will take some confidence in," Lemanis said.
Melbourne, 108-80 on Saturday night.
The victories left the Victorian club trailing only New Zealand (4-1) on the ladder
after five rounds.
The Breakers completed their five-game home stand to start the season with a 120-108
win over struggling Gold Coast (0-7), who also crashed 102-87 to third placed Cairns
(4-2).
Townsville (3-2) was fourth, after their three-match win streak was snapped by Perth
(5-5), who scored a 107-93 away win over the Crocs.
It was a good week for the Wildcats, who earlier scored an 89-77 home win over
Wollongong (3-4), the Hawks bouncing back to defeat Adelaide 105-95 in Wollongong.
A crowd of just under 1,600 turned up to the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Friday
night as Dragons coach Brian Goorjian made his first return to the venue in which he
had so much success with the now-defunct Sydney Kings.
Back in Melbourne on Saturday night, 9,308 packed into Hisense Arena the following
night to watch the local derby.
"We as a league, it's important that Melbourne and Sydney are thriving and there was
definitely a contrast between the two nights," Goorjian said
The Dragons completed their double despite the absence of Boomers forward Mark
Worthington, who was sidelined with an injured hamstring.
Goorjian hoped Worthington would be fit for their next match against Cairns, but was
delighted by the performances of his new-look side.
"There was an emotional package to it with (me) being associated with Sydney and
coming back and playing the cross-town rivals," said Goorjian, who led the Kings to
three NBL titles before the club dropped out of the competition following at the end
of last season.
"Secondly, we had big challenges on court. Sydney had won three in a row and the
Tigers everybody says had possibly the best team assembled.
"We went into the two games with our best player not being available.
"It was a great weekend, we got contributions from everybody.
"This weekend has made the start of the season better than expected and I think the
Melbourne game was a level above how we've played to this point and what it shows is
we could become a pretty good team."
He was especially happy with the efforts of youngster Joe Ingles, who scored 17 and
26 over the two games and import forward Tremmell Darden who notched 22 and 20.
Goorjian said a communication breakdown was responsible for him not attending the
mandatory post-game press conference in Sydney and he might contact the NBL on
Monday to clarify his absence, which would normally involve a $1000 fine.
Breakers' coach Andrej Lemanis said his team was looking forward to going on the
road after their sizzling start at home.
"We feel four out of five wins puts us in a good position to start our road campaign
and we will take some confidence in," Lemanis said.
