Giants near top eight as they defeat Tigers
The Goldfields Giants claimed their biggest scalp of the season and edged to the cusp of the State Basketball League's top eight after upsetting a highly touted Willetton Tigers at home on Saturday night.
After a 0-8 start to the season, the Giants continued their revival with a 104-99 win to celebrate Shamus Ballantyne's 350th game.
It was the Giants' fifth win in six matches and while they remain in 10th position, only percentage separates them from eighth-placed Lakeside.
Stirling, with a 5-9 win-loss record, are ninth.
Goldfields' latest effort was in stark contrast to round 1, when they lost to the Tigers.
On that occasion, the Giants had 22 turnovers, compared to just seven on Saturday night.
But the Giants still faced a long road back after the Tigers controlled the opening three quarters.
Willetton had shot nine of 15 three-point attempts to half-time, but finished at 15 for 31 (48.4 per cent) and were held to four points through the opening five minutes of the last quarter.
"This was a game of runs and we had our big run right at the end when it counted," Giants coach Michael Haney said.
"I wanted the boys to build some momentum, play to our strengths and play to our crowd.
"People think playing in front of our home crowd is not a big advantage but it is (because) there's nowhere like this in the whole league - it's a tough environment for any visiting team."
