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The South Dragons have completed a remarkable rise from wooden spooners to champions in the space of 12 months, clinching their first and the NBL’s last ever title.
The Dragons beat the Melbourne Tigers by 21 points to win the decisive fifth game of the best-of-five grand final series at Hisense Arena on Friday night and seal a 3-2 victory.
Import Tremmell Darden top-scored with 31 points to spearhead the 102-81 win by a more desperate, more disciplined and more defensively accomplished Dragons side over their crosstown rivals.
While fellow US import Donta Smith deservedly won the Larry Sengstock Medal for most valuable player of the series, Darden swung Friday night’s game his side’s way with a freakish third quarter.
He posted 21 of his game-high 31 points in the term.
Apart from early in the first quarter when the Tigers shot brilliantly and their opponents were shaking off the rust, the Dragons controlled most of the first half and led by 11 at the main break.
But the Tigers closed the gap to single digits early in the third quarter, before Darden went on a rampage to send the 9,000-strong crowd at the Dragons’ home court into delirium and seal the victory.
It was master coach Brian Goorjian’s sixth NBL championship, and he declared it his sweetest title victory.
In his first year in the job, Goorjian has built a culture of tenacity at the underperforming Dragons which had been lacking in their previous two seasons.
The club entered the NBL three years ago, but endured failed experiments with NBA legend Mark Price and Australian star Shane Heal as coaches – both of whom were messily sacked mid-season amid questions of the Dragons’ competence.
But Goorjian’s appointment at the start of the season has turned around the Dragons’ entire organisation.
“This is a great bunch of guys. It was a first-year situation and we were not going to play the underdog, we were not going to say we were lucky to be here,” Goorjian said.
“We finished top and positioned ourselves in the regular season for a championship, and the ball was in our court.
“We went out and won the game on our home court and didn’t lose on our home court.
“That’s what we had to do.”
Goorjian pointed to the Dragons’ signing of skipper Mark Worthington – one of the few Sydney Kings to play under him in a losing grand final side – and the mid-season recruitment of Smith as important pieces of the championship puzzle.
But pivotal was Darden’s stunning third quarter, in which he shot seven-of-seven from the field including three three-pointers – his only blemish one missed free-throw as he ran hot.
Darden was ably supported by Smith, who was again excellent for his side as he had been throughout the grand final series.
Smith had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and along with Worthington and Mika Vukona dominated the boards to limit Tigers danger man Chris Anstey’s effectiveness.
Ebi Ere and David Barlow top-scored for the Tigers with 16 points each.
The NBL has also been consigned to history after this grand final series, with a new elite competition to replace the struggling league.
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