The Tigers are coming!

For sure, it won’t be as friendly as you think an exhibition series should be. That’s the stormy outlook in the two-game duel between the Philippine national team and the visiting Melbourne Tigers at the Cuneta Astrodome on Aug. 29 and the Araneta Coliseum on Aug. 31.

A lot of pride is at stake in the Tigers’ tour. Melbourne coach Lindsay Gaze recalled that en route to the Rome Olympics in 1960, he was on the Australian national team that came here to play against the Philippines in two games he’d rather forget.

Bret Haris, in the book Boom–Inside the NBL, said the visitors were "dazed by the tropical heat of Manila and the exuberance of the crowds." He continued: "After they lost the first game by about 30 points, the press dismissed them as being 10 years behind the Philippines. The second time, however, they lost by only six or seven points and the papers grudgingly conceded that perhaps, it wouldn’t take Australia so long to catch up after all."

Today, Australia is a global power in men’s and women’s hoops. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Australian men’s team–nicknamed the Boomers–took fourth place and the women–nicknamed the Opals–captured the silver medal.

The Philippines, in contrast, has not qualified to compete in Olympic basketball since 1972.

Gaze, 65, is a three-time NBL Coach of the Year and piloted the Tigers to the league title in 1993 and 1997. As a player, he saw action in three Olympics. And as a coach, he piloted Australia in four Olympics and three World Championships.

"My memories of some of the great Filipino players date back to 1956 when we saw Carlos Loyzaga play at the Melbourne Olympics and later, I had the privilege to play against him in 1960 and 1962," said Gaze in an email to The STAR. "Others like Ralph Barretto–who played several seasons in Australia–Eddie Pacheco, Alberto Reynoso and Ed Roque were stars of the era. But I guess the player who sticks most in my memory is Robert Jaworski who was probably one of the most vigorous and talented players of the period–whom I admired not just for his skill but his determination and longevity in the sport at the top level."

Gaze said the team he is bringing to Manila will be led by last season’s NBL MVP Mark Bradtke, Lanard Copeland, Marcus Timmons, Neil Mottram, Luke McMillan, and David Smith. His son Andrew, a five-time Olympian and a National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran, will join the team here but will not play as he is recovering from ankle surgery.

Bradtke, 33, averaged 23.8 points and 13.2 rebounds for the Tigers last season. The five-time All Star and three-time Olympian has led the NBL in rebounding the last four years. He played 36 games for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996-97. Copeland, 37, played as a Pepsi import in the PBA in 1991. The 6-6 forward from Georgia State was recruited by the Tigers in 1992 and has since lived in Australia as a naturalized citizen. Copeland, the 1997 NBL MVP, hit at a 24.1 point clip for Melbourne last season. He suited up for the Sixers and the Los Angeles Clippers in two NBA campaigns. Timmons, 30, averaged 15.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists for the Tigers last year. The former Southern Illinois star played here for Pop Cola in 1998. Mottram, a 6-9 forward, is a rookie from the Australian Institute of Sport. Smith, 23, was the NBL Rookie of the Year in 1998.

The Tigers are the oldest club in the history of Australian basketball. Gaze has coached the club since its pre-NBL days in 1971. Last season, Melbourne placed third in the NBL playoffs. "We have a proud history of playing at the highest level," said Gaze.

Gaze planned to take the Tigers for a series of games in China and Korea but decided to visit Manila instead. Melbourne is preparing for the start of the NBL season on Oct. 2.

"I am very pleased to receive an invitation to visit the Philippines again after many years of absence," said Gaze. "We were intending to include a stopover (in Manila) after visiting China but the visit to China has been postponed to later in the year when only our development squad will be available to travel. We will be traveling to the Philippines (then) returning home to continue our preparation for the NBL. I am hopeful that our visit (will) encourage more reciprocal exchanges between our teams, both senior and junior."

As for Australia’s absence at the World Championships in Indiana late this month, Gaze said losing the Oceania ticket to New Zealand was a blow to morale but not surprising.

"New Zealand has a fine team, including NBA players, and is very well coached," he said. "Australia was in transition after several veterans announced their retirement from international competition and it was not well prepared at the time of the qualification tournament to deal with an emotional and highly-committed New Zealand team. Australia has been showing it will remain competitive at the international level with some outstanding games in Europe where our team has had good wins over Yugoslavia, Russia, and Turkey lately. We hope to restore our pride in Athens at the next Olympics with a redeveloped team under new coach Brian Goorjian."

Philippine coach Joseph Uichico said he welcomes the opportunity to play the Australians whose European style is more suited to the international game. Because of the Australians’ size, he said he expects the team to go to the post, where it has an advantage, a lot more than Chinese—Taipei. The Tigers are like China and Lebanon in that respect. Melbourne has the additional luxury of boasting topnotch outside marksmen in Copeland and Smith who hit over 37 percent of their shots from triple range last season.

Against Chinese-Taipei, the Philippines lorded it over both boards and Asi Taulava dominated in the interior. But against the Tigers, the Fighting 15 won’t be able to pound it inside as much and will be forced to play the perimeter. The Melbourne series should be an indicator of how prepared the Philippines is in playing against bigger teams at the Asian Games in Busan.