29 October 2008
Tigers v Leopards: Preview
Taunton Tigers and Leopards meet for round three of the “battle of the big cats” on Sunday afternoon, with National Trophy points at stake.
The two previous meetings this season have resulted in home wins for the Leopards. The game ended in a thrilling finale which saw Tigers’ Joe Saunders level the score at 89 with under two seconds remaining, only to see 19-year-old point guard Lukas Volskis coolly drain a pair of shots from the charity stripe with 0.7 seconds remaining to give the hosts victory.
Last week’s game at the Brentwood saw a more comfortable win for the Leopards as Hrvoje Pervan poured in 38 points in a 103-90 victory. Most of the damage for the home side was done during the second period as Tigers were outscored 31-10 – indeed it was the only quarter that the Leopards actually won, with both second half periods finishing level.
Despite losing the game, Tigers’ long-serving team manager Paul Carter remained positive: “In previous seasons we would have lost by 30 points or more after that poor second quarter. However, the resurgent Tigers never lost hope and played for the win in the second half rather than damage limitation. There is a different and completely justified level of belief and confidence about us now”.
“With our home crowd at Wellsprings behind us, it will be very interesting when they come to us next weekend. If you have to pick one game to come to this year choose this one next weekend - it promises to be a real cracker “
Leopards hope to have a full roster to choose from for the first time this season. Point guard Carl Latham-Henry is back to full fitness after missing the first two games of the campaign with a groin injury, though youngster Volskis continues to keep him out of the starting line-up. Young forward Robert Gilchrist marked his return from an ankle injury with 16 points against the Tigers, while centre Lee McCarthy returns after missing two of the last three games due to junior coaching commitments.
“It will be good to have all ten players available again” said Leopards’ coach Jon Burnell. “We struggled with foul trouble last week, so having two players for each spot with always help.”
Burnell is pleased with how the club’s junior players are developing: “Lukas and Leigh [Greenan] are much better players than when they joined us 14 months ago, and the newer juniors are also progressing. Robert had a really good game for us on Sunday, and he’s clearly got a lot of talent. We know the kids will be inconsistent, but there’s a lot of promise from them.”
With their Hoops 4 Health programme starting in November, Leopards still plan to add a big man to their squad, and have also signed Barking Academy guard Turan Webb this week.
Tigers go into the game with one win from three games in the Trophy, and realistically need to win to maintain their semi-final hopes, while Leopards have won their opening three games in the competition.
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