Roar emotion: Tigers’ resurgence inspires new generation

One of the stories of the 2026 Mitsubishi NBL1 Season has been the Melbourne Tigers, who compete in the South Conference.

The men’s team, coached by NBL legend Andrew Gaze, took out the minor premiership with a 22-5 record.

The women’s side finished with a 13-9 record to book a spot in this weekend’s Qualifying Final against Mount Gambier.

“The legacy [of the Melbourne Tigers] is something from the domestic competitions to our junior competitions, [that] a long history of success, and the brand, the Melbourne Tigers, is still really strong,” Gaze said during a special NBL1 feature documentary.

“Particularly what we have gone through four or five years ago, [with] our senior programs with our men and women were not doing so well.

“But now with MSAC (Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre) and the unification of all the founding associations of Victorian basketball coming together, it's great that we've been able to build a program now that can compete at the highest NBL1 level.”

A big part of the club’s growing brand is the women’s team's two Chinese stars, Shuyu Yang and Mingling Chen, who have helped the Tigers sell out most of their home games.

The former, who recently signed with WNBL outfit the Sydney Flames, has been blown away by the support their team has received in 2026.

“The people, it's crazy, right?” Yang said.

“I never saw that before. I love it, [and] I'm very grateful.

“I came here [to Melbourne] before with the national team in 2019, [and now returned as] we always want more international experience, [and to] play in a different League.

“China always supports us in different opportunities and different levels, [which has allowed] me to improve a lot.”

One person who also knows the impact the Chinese duo have had on the Tigers is Hannah Giddey, the son of club legend Warren and sister of Chicago Bull star Josh.

“They've had a massive impact, and fit into our team so well,” Giddey said.

“Even with the language barrier, we help them a lot.

“I feel like this is the first time a women's team's had more of a crowd than the men's side, so it's definitely helped us.

“It's just great for our game and our environment, and I've loved playing in front of so many fans.”

The other person that appreciated the impact the whole women’s team is having on the next generation is former Sydney King and Melbourne United guard Tom Wilson, who is averaging 21.6 points, 5.2 assists and 5 rebounds per game in NBL1.

“It's been unreal to have them come over [to play],” Wilson said.

“Hopefully we get some younger girls coming along to the games and seeing the stands packed, really inspires them to go on and do great things and play for the Tigers.

“We're very lucky to have them packing out the stadium for us.”

The Tigers women’s team host the Pioneers at MSAC on Saturday from 6.30pm AEST, while the men will take on the winner of Saturday’s Elimination Final between Sandringham and Casey.