Basketball: Tigers set up grand final decider

Tigers centre Chris Anstey dominated the Dragons to send the ANBL grand final series into a deciding fifth game. Photo / Getty Images

MELBOURNE - Melbourne centre Chris Anstey beat suspension, then beat the South Dragons virtually single-handedly last night to send the ANBL grand final series into a deciding fifth game.

With all eyes on him, Anstey produced a remarkable individual performance as the Tigers won game four 108-95 at the State Netball Centre.

He poured in 31 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and posed too many questions for the Dragons to answer to level the best-of-five series at 2-2.

It means the last ever ANBL championship before the new league is launched will be decided at the Dragons' home court - Melbourne's Hisense Arena - in game five on Friday night.

Anstey put aside days of controversy about his strike on Dragons guard Rhys Carter in Sunday's game three - and fallout which included the ANBL labelling the Tigers bad sports for their criticism of the referees - to revive his club's hopes of a fifth title.

The Dragons were unable to shackle a clearly fired-up Anstey or produce anything like the defence they managed in game three.

Giant centre Anstey, who was given a suspended sentence for his hit on Carter allowing him a reprieve to play this match, made his intentions known early.

He had 23 points and nine rebounds in the first half, dominating at both ends of the court as the Tigers powered out to a 13-point halftime lead.

Fighting for their grand final lives, teammates Ebi Ere and David Barlow lifted towards Anstey's orbit in the third term.

Ere finished with 20 points, Barlow 18, while guard Nathan Crosswell (14 points, five assists) also provided plenty of energy at vital times.

The Tigers led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter before the Dragons clawed the deficit back without ever threatening to overturn it.

Perhaps showing how much the Dragons' bigger names struggled to breathe in Anstey's rarefied air, bench guard Carter top-scored for his side with 17 points.

In a total reversal of game four, the Tigers smashed the Dragons in the rebound count - Anstey leading a 60-33 torching in that department.

Anstey would not attribute his performance directly to the controversy which centred around his game three tangle with Carter, saying the whole incident had been "over-analysed".

"We had to come out and match their intensity," Anstey said.

"It's a one-game series now and if someone said to you at the start of the season you'll have one game to win the championship, you'll take it every time."

Dragons coach Brian Goorjian said Anstey was the difference between the two sides, but was confident his team could close out the championship on their home court on Friday night.

"Anstey played great ... but all that's happened is that everybody's held serve," Goorjian said.

"(The series) has gone from home to home to home to home.

"We took a piece of them in game three, they did what they're supposed to do in game four and now the ball's in our court in game five."

Meanwhile, the Tigers are still waiting to hear what disciplinary fallout will come from owner Seamus McPeake's criticism of the game three referees.

ANBL chief executive Scott Derwin accused the club of "terrible" sportsmanship over the issue and forecast a penalty would be imposed soon on the Tigers for unfairly casting aspersions on refereeing consistency.

"It is very disappointing, although perhaps not surprising, that a losing team would seek to bring into disrepute the efforts of the officials," Derwin said in a statement earlier on Wednesday.

"It is a terrible example of sportsmanship to set for the hundreds of thousands of children who play the sport of basketball and it will not be tolerated."

- AAP