South Spotlight | New arrivals have Tigers talk of NBL1

Featured image: @xnp_photography

The excitement that Shuyu Yang and Mingling Chen have brought to the Melbourne Tigers saw another sold out crowd on Sunday and their team kept winning too with the 86-81 win over defending NBL1 South champion Knox Raiders.

The Tigers struggled to start the season losing their past four matches, but all of a sudden with the arrival of Yang and Chen last week along with Zitina Aokuso, and they look a completely different team.

Not only that, but they could well be bringing the most excitement from any team around the country with the way the local Chinese community has got around their two stars.

That led to a packed Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre again on Sunday and any time Yang or Chen did anything, the noise was deafening.

They had plenty to cheer for as well especially from Yang who had 13 points n the first quarter and ended up with 33 to lead the Tigers to the five-point victory to make it three straight since her arrival along with having Chen and Aokuso in the line-up.

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Melbourne have now improved to a 3-4 record as a result of those three consecutive wins while Knox in their championship defence are now 5-4 having split their double this weekend on the back of beating the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday.

The Tigers now have won all three matches since help has arrived and there's such excitement surrounding them thanks to the local Chinese support that they have suddenly become must-watch viewing.

Shuyu Yang was the star of the win with 13 points in the first quarter and 10 in the third on her way to 33 for the game with seven assists on 11/17 shooting from the floor, 5/8 from behind the arc and 6/8 at the free-throw line.

Zitina Aokuso added 21 points, five rebounds and two assists for the Tigers while Isa Brancatisano contributed 13 points and five boards, and Charlotte Brancatisano six points and five assists.

Knox still can't quite build the momentum into their championship defence they would be hoping with another split weekend to now sit at 5-4 after the opening five rounds but with Kristy Wallace due back for next weekend.

Shaneice Swain did deliver 20 points, seven steals and three assists for the Raiders with Agnes Emma-Nnopu adding 16 points, five rebounds and two steals with 11 of her points in the opening half.

Paige Bradley also provided 13 points, four assists and three rebounds, Alicia Froling 12 points, nine boards and two steals, and Haliegh Reinoehl 10 points and eight rebounds.

Fresh off the momentum from their wins over Anzac Weekend following the arrival of their Chinese stars, the Tigers made the fast start once again with 23 points to 15 in the first with Shuyu Yang on fire with 13 points.

Melbourne went into quarter-time with the momentum too after a half-court buzzer-beater from Isa Brancatisano for the eight-point lead on shooting 56 per cent from just the 29 from the Raiders who went 0/8 from downtown.

Knox worked back into the contest with 27 points to 19 in the second term and that was on the back of shooting 10/23 from the field and 2/5 from downtown while pulling down nine offensive rebounds to half-time and forcing Melbourne into nine turnovers.

That helped the Raiders draw level at 42-42 getting up an extra 14 shot attempts and six more free throws to make up for the Tigers shooting 53 per cent to just 36 from Knox.

Yang had 19 points to half-time for the Tigers and then she started the second half on fire with five quick points to push her team back on top, and by three quarter-time they were leading 67-61 once more.

Melbourne then blew the game open with a match-high 13-point lead but Knox did fire back with an 11-0 run to make things interesting, but the Tigers were able to close the deal on the five-point win to keep their momentum going with their new arrivals.

The Tigers have a double next weekend away to Geelong United on Saturday and then hosting the Frankston Blues on Sunday while the Raiders play host to the Northern Force on Saturday night.

NBL1 SOUTH 2026 SEASON | ROUND 5

MELBOURNE TIGERS 86 (Yang 33, Aokuso 21, I Brancatisano 13)

KNOX RAIDERS 81 (Swain 20, Emma-Nnopu 16, Bradley 13)