The Eagles continue to remind teams they are a legitimate chance of a "three-peat" after triumphing in an 86-82 thriller over the Tigers at Morphett Vale on Saturday night, despite missing key players Neil Mottram and Trent Fildes.

The visitors relied upon massive contributions from starters Adam Doyle (27 points), Jake Rios (26 points) and Brad Haydon (20 points) to get the job done.

Brad Gerlach also did his best to fill the void left by Fildes and Mottram, recording a near triple-double on the night (11 points, 9 assists, 13 rebounds).

In a clever piece of coaching, Forestville coach Andy Simons stifled the Tiger’s run by setting a defensive trap mid-way through the first, preventing the home team from using their athleticism to turn the match into a foot race and generate some momentum early.

The Tigers managed to find some offensive rhythm in the second, Sam McDaniels  (18 points, 11 rebounds) continuing his exciting form this season. The athletic forward knocked down a three to spark a mini-Tigers run, followed by an offensive put-back and a spectacular near-chasedown block off a Forestville breakaway, spoiled only by the fact that he accidentally landed on the Eagles player during his re-entry from orbit. 

Despite the spectacular nature of the home team’s plays it was the Eagles who held a one point advantage at the half courtesy of their aggressive attack on the rim and excellent free throw shooting. Southern on the other hand struggled to make their penalty shots count.

The second half saw both teams continue to trade baskets until Eagles import Jake Rios decided to get things going.

The athletic shooting guard out of Mexico started heating up in the second half, sinking four of his five three pointers to give his squad a 12-point lead midway through the final term.

But the Tigers weren’t done yet. Pegging the lead all the way back to two points with 10 seconds to play, after a pair of late three-pointers by Sam Johns and errant free throw shooting by the road team, breathing life back into a game most believed to be have been already buried.

However again it was Doyle who stepped up in the clutch, sinking 6/6 free throws in the final twenty seconds and coming up with a big steal to quash the crowd’s hopes of a miracle comeback.

The win sees the Eagles improve to 4-2, just two games out of top spot, whilst the Tigers will need a big win next week against North Adelaide if they hope to crack the top five.

Forestville Eagles 86 (Adam Doyle 27, Jake Rios 26, Brad Haydon 20)
Southern Tigers 82 (Samual McDaniel 18, Samuel Johns 15, Michale Florance 13)

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By Lachlan Sellar