Tigers arrive tonight for RP series

The two-time Australian National Basketball League (NBL) champion Melbourne Tigers plane in on a Qantas flight from Down Under at 6:50 tonight to play the Busan-bound Selecta-Philippine team at the Cuneta Astrodome tomorrow and the Araneta ColiseumSaturday.

The 16-man visiting party lists coach Lindsay Gaze, assistant coach Alan Westover, manager Ian Jones, trainer Simon Carney, club director Seamus McPeake, and 11 players, including five-time Olympian Andrew Gaze.

Although Gaze is in the Tigers roster, he will probably not play in the two-game exhibition series. Gaze, 37, injured his ankle late last season and initial surgery wasn’t successful. He underwent a second operation last June and the recovery period will take eight to 12 weeks.

"It is unlikely Andrew will be recovered to play but he will accompany the team," said his father Lindsay, the 65-year-old Melbourne coach. "He remains our inspirational leader and hopes to be back to complete fitness for the start of our season."

The Tigers will inaugurate a new home–the 3,500-seat State Netball and Hockey Center in Royal Park–when the 30th NBL season opens Oct. 2.

Gaze’s roster is bannered by three National Basketball Association (NBA) veterans and averages 6-6 in height. The shortest player is 6-4 1/2 guard David Smith, 23, who was the NBL’s Rookie of the Year in 1998. The tallest is 6-10, 265-pound Mark Bradtke, the NBL’s 33-year-old MVP last season.

The three NBA veterans are Andrew Gaze (Washington, 1993-94, San Antonio, 1998-99), Bradtke (Philadelphia, 1996-97), and 6-6 naturalized citizen Lanard Copeland (Philadelphia, 1998-90, Los Angeles Clippers, 1991-92). Copeland, 37, and 6-7 Marcus Timmons, 30, previously played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) as imports. Copeland suited up for Pepsi in 1991 and Timmons for Pop Cola in 1998.

The other Tigers are 6-5 1/2 Luke McMillan, 6-7 Steve Hoare, 6-6 1/2 Nathan Taylor, 6-6 Matt Reuter, 6-8 1/2 Neil Mottram, and 6-5 Greg Blake.

The elder Gaze, a four-time Olympic coach, brought in fresh recruits Mottram, Reuter, and Blake this year. Mottram, who formerly played for the Perth Wildcats, will be Bradtke’s chief reliever in the middle. Blake, 27, saw action for Salt Lake Community College in the US and made his NBL debut in 1997. Reuter averaged 28.8 points and 11.4 rebounds for the Knox Raiders in the Australian minors last season and is hailed as Andrew’s heir apparent.

"Matt has shown great potential during his workouts and I believe he will have a big impact on our team this season," said Gaze, quoted by Derek Agnew in Pro Basketball Today (Aug. 7, 2002). "We will be able to use Matt in a number of positions and the combination of Steve, Neil, Nathan and Marcus will give us a number of options in the forward position."

Agnew said the three recruits "give the Tigers significantly more size and depth…with Mottram and Reuter providing Gaze with a very flexible frontline." Writer Matt McQuade commented that Mottram’s addition gives Bradtke "the kind of quality backup…he has never enjoyed." McQuade noted that the Tigers are "a team to be feared" in the NBL this season.

The Tigers wound up third in the NBL playoffs last campaign. Gaze said if not for injuries that sidelined key players, including his son, Melbourne would’ve finished higher.

TIGER NOTES: A STAR reader Michael Ortiz of Dohas, Gomez Street, Calbayog, Western Samar, brought up the idea of inviting an Australian team to Manila last March. Ortiz had written Gaze a blind letter in 1995 and to his surprise, the Australian coach replied by sending a personal letter with a copy of a basketball book he authored..

"I was a frequent visitor to the Philippines through the 1960s and ‘70s with one of our highlights being the World Championships in 1978," wrote Gaze in his letter to Ortiz. "Since then, our visits have been rare and our attempt to arrange some games in the Philippines also failed due to lack of communication.

"I have been trying to establish exchange programs between our respective junior basketball teams but correspondence with basketball officials is rarely answered and I am having difficulty making progress. Any suggestions you might make about the way in which we can create more opportunities for our respective teams to meet in friendly competition will be welcome. I realize funding is always a problem but unless we exchange information, it will be impossible to solve the problem."

Ortiz forwarded Gaze’s 1995 letter to The STAR only last March. "I sent a photocopy (of Gaze’s letter) to our basketball officials but what Mr. Gaze said was true–officials rarely answer this kind of correspondence," wrote Ortiz to The STAR. "In the letter, Mr. Gaze mentioned he tried to establish an exchange program between our respective junior basketball teams but he had difficulty in making any progress.

"Surely, we could have an exchange in the other levels as well not only in the junior level. This kind of program would definitely help us by facing tough competition on a regular basis. I’d like to see Philippine basketball to be No. 1 in Asia again. Just wanted you to know I read your column every time in The STAR and your insights on different sports is just incredible.

"Hope you could do something about this. If they had done something about it before, we could have our national squad playing tune-up games with the Australian team."

Five months after Ortiz’ letter landed in The STAR mailbox, his dream will come true. He will be one of the PBA’s special guests in the games on Thursday and Saturday. — Joaquin Henson