Melbourne Tigers star Cameron ‘Trigger’ Tragardh has broken through to win the National Basketball League’s Player of the Week for Round 13 of the iiNet NBL Championship after playing a key role in his club’s nail-biting road win over the Gold Coast Blaze.
Tragardh scored 25 points and added six rebounds and one block as the Tigers roared back from a slow first half to defeat the Blaze at ‘The Furnace’ (AKA the Gold Coast Convention Centre) on New Year’s Eve, 79-72.
The Blaze looked set to swamp the Tigers in the first half, but Tragardh kept the Tigers in the game as he made 12-of-20 shots from the field for the match (60%).
Despite the fact that the 209cm forward is currently leading the NBL in scoring at 18.9 points per game, the award is his first weekly honour this season.
To break through for the win, the established big man had to fight off a serious challenge from the next generation of NBL bigs.
Adelaide’s Daniel Johnson was only narrowly edged out by Tragardh after a magnificent performance in his team’s 96-77 road win over the Sydney Kings. Johnson scored 21 points and added 14 rebounds in yet another strong outing by one of the sport’s true rising stars.
Cairns Taipans forward Alex Loughton was also a leading contender for the weekly honours in Round 13 as was Perth’s Luke Nevill. Loughton scored 20 points and added four rebounds and three assists as the Snakes upset the visiting New Zealand Breakers, 74-57, before a sold-out crowd at the Cairns Convention Centre on New Year’s Eve.
Towering Wildcats’ centre Luke Nevill had 21 points and seven rebounds as Perth moved past New Zealand into top spot on the NBL ladder with a 97-76 road win over Townsville on Saturday.
Others considered for Player of the Week for Round 13 included Anatoly Bose (Sydney), Liam Rush (Melbourne), Jesse Wagstaff (Perth), Jamar Wilson (Cairns), Peter Crawford (Townsville), Mark Worthington (Gold Coast), Kevin Lisch (Perth), Damian Martin (Perth), and Tim Coenraad (Wollongong).
2011/12 iiNet NBL Championship Player of the Week Winners
Round 1 – Patty Mills (Melbourne Tigers)
Round 2 – Shawn Redhage (Perth Wildcats)
Round 3 – Julian Khazzouh (Sydney Kings)
Round 4 – Daniel Johnson (Adelaide 36ers)
Round 5 – Gary Wilkinson (New Zealand Breakers)
Round 6 – Eddie Gill (Townsville Crocodiles)
Round 7 – Jamar Wilson (Cairns Taipans)
Round 8 – Adris Deleon (Gold Coast Blaze)
Round 9 – Thomas Abercrombie (New Zealand Breakers)
Round 10 – Jamar Wilson (Cairns Taipans)
Round 11 – Adam Gibson (Gold Coast Blaze)
Round 12 – Eddie Gill (Townsville Crocodiles)
Round 13 – Cameron Tragardh (Melbourne Tigers)
