South Spotlight | Tigers secure regular season crown

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They came into the last round of the NBL1 South regular season the top two teams and that's where they finish but it's the Melbourne Tigers grabbing top spot with the 88-84 win in overtime over the Eltham Wildcats.

Top spot was on the line when the teams locked horns on the last night of the regular season at Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre but there was also the chance one of them dropped out of the top two should Nunawading win at the same time.

So there was plenty at stake for both teams and they would go on to put on quite the spectacular show beginning with 23 points to 19 at home in favour of the Tigers with Jack Purchase scoring 11 of those points.

Melbourne shot at 67 per cent to 40 in that first quarter but Eltham hit back with 21 points to 17 in the second term and that saw scores all square at 40-40 by half-time.

Purchase was up to 14 points by the Tigers and Harrison Hornery 11 for the Wildcats with Melbourne shooting 55 per cent to 44 but Eltham did have three extra shots and four more free-throw attempts with six offensive rebounds and forcing Melbourne into six turnovers.

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It remained quite the battle the rest of the way and Eltham had 22 points to 18 in the third quarter to open up a six-point advantage and to be leading 62-58 by three quarter-time.

Melbourne then scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter to grab the momentum and a six-point lead after three minutes when Kai Garnaut scored.

Eltham responded with the next eight points from Zak Cunningham, Sam Short and Mitch McCarron to retake the lead before leading into the final three minutes, Short and George Blagojevic traded three-pointers to keep scores level.

In the end after the Wildcats went back up three, Josh Sykes scored on an offensive rebound for Melbourne against his former team and then Blagojevic split his two free throws to tie scores up at 79-79 and send the game into overtime.

Melbourne opened the extra period with an 8-2 run and in the end that was not only enough to secure the Tigers the four-point victory, but also the regular season championship.

The two teams finish the season on identical 17-5 records but on the back of winning the season split over the Wildcats, it's the Tigers that secure first place as they look to back up last year's Grand Final appearance.

By the end of the 45 minutes, the Tigers were shooting the ball better at 52 per cent to 43 along with going 14/21 to 11/13 at the foul line, but the Wildcats won the possession battle with 12 extra shot attempts on the back of 10 offensive boards and causing 17 turnovers for Melbourne.

Jack Purchase had a hot start with 11 points in the first quarter and finished with 22 to go with eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks with 5/11 shooting from the outside.

Josh Sykes also had 20 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks against his former team, Mason Gaze 11 points, three assists and two boards, and George Blagojevic 10 points and six rebounds.

Wilson Amos added nine points and two assists, and reigning MVP Tom Wilson nine points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Eltham's seven-game winning streak came to an end but they still go into the playoffs from second position and reaching the post-season for a fourth successive season.

TJ Weeks ended up with 22 points, three steals and two rebounds on 4/11 shooting from the outside for the Wildcats with Harrison Hornery adding 15 points and four boards with 3/5 three-point shooting.

Mitch McCarron added 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, Sam Short 13 points, five assists and two steals, and Zak Cunningham 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Both teams now earn the weekend off thanks to finishing in the top two positions as they await their qualifying final opponents on Saturday August 1.

NBL1 SOUTH 2026 SEASON | ROUND 15

MELBOURNE TIGERS 88 (Purchase 22, Sykes 20, Gaze 11)

ELTHAM WILDCATS 84 (Weeks 22, Hornery 15, McCarron 14)