BBL Championship: Stefan Gill inspires Manchester Giants to comeback win
Manchester Giants won the north-west derby 96-65 after a second-half collapse left Mersey Tigers still winless.
Last Updated: 28/12/12 10:03pm
The hosts led by double-digits in the first-half, but a desperate third period led to an eventually crushing defeat.
Having led 20-13 after a bright opening, Tigers extended their advantage to 28-16 via a score by Martin Calvo and even when Giants responded with a score by Stefan Gill to reduce the deficit to just five points, Tigers accelerated once again to lead 39-30 after playmaker Josh McGinn converted at the hoop.
Giants were on the ropes, but both a dunk by David Watts to finish the half and a probable rollicking from head coach Jeff Jones in the locker room led to them grabbing the initiative when they returned to the floor in an astonishing third quarter performance.
Trailing 39-22 at the break, they turned the game on its head with an extraordinary 37-13 ten-minute spell when they blew Tigers away.
And, with Giants finding their range from long distance, it was a similar story in the final quarter too, with the Tigers simply unable to stem the tide and stop the rot.
Gill led the way for Giants with four triples in a 24-point haul whilst Joshua Lockett had 15 points and eight rebounds for the losing team.
