NBL: Dellavedova leads United to win despite Tassie fans’ boos

The Ant Army might have bitten off more than they could chew by relentlessly booing Melbourne United star Matthew Dellavedova. It didn’t throw him off; he thrived.

Matthew Dellavedova stood up and delivered when it mattered most to steer Melbourne United to crucial Game 4 victory in the NBL Grand Final championship series. Picture: Getty Images

The Ant Army played with NBL grand final fire and got burnt — even if history almost repeated for Jack McVeigh.

That fire was Matthew Dellavedova, who the MyState Bank Arena crowd targeted relentlessly from the tip of a game four that offered a chance at title glory for their beloved Tasmania JackJumpers.

But, ignited by the non-stop boos, the Melbourne United star poured in nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter — including six in the last two minutes — to close out a thrilling 88-86 raid on the JackJumpers and force a game five decider in front of what is sure to be a sold out Melbourne home crowd on Easter Sunday.

Tasmania’s Fabijan Krslovic attempts to block Melbourne United’s Matthew Dellavedova. Picture: Getty Images

As much as they’ve covered themselves in glory over the three years of the JackJumpers’ existence as the NBL’s most parochial fanbase, booing Dellavedova wasn’t the Ant Army’s finest moment.

Country boy Delly might be from Victoria — and one of United’s best players — but he epitomises the Tassie underdog spirit.

From undrafted rookie to NBA champion alongside LeBron James, Delly is a national sporting hero as a member of the Boomers’ historic Tokyo Olympic bronze medal team.

Even legendary Boomer Andrew Gaze felt the crowd reaction was a bit off during the call — and foreshadowed the Tassie fans were playing with fire.

“Delly loves hearing the boos, he thrives on it,” Gaze said.

While booing opposing teams and players is about as Australian as it gets, jeers for someone like Delly — for no real reason — is decidedly unAustralian.

Matthew Dellavedova fights through heavy traffic. Picture: Getty Images

Matthew Dellavedova listened to the Ant Army’s jeers, then burned the JackJumpers. Picture: Getty Images

Delly’s copped fair criticism in the series for his histrionics. He’s animatedly called for reviews and regularly blown up over fouls.

It’s worn thin for the Ant Army.

Despite that, he’s played his guts out and deserves grudging respect.

Apart from the fact the negative energy is completely wasted on a 33-year-old veteran who spent nine seasons dealing with big crowds in the NBA, if anything, JackJumpers fans should have been cheering Dellavedova.

After all, his unsportsmanlike foul in game two went a ways to their team squaring the series and then his mistake late in game three paved the way for the ‘McVeigh Miracle’ that reverberated all over the world. Those mistakes gave the JackJumpers a shot at closing out the grand final on their home floor.

But they blew it.

Matthew Dellavedova and Melbourne United celebrate their win in Tasmania. Picture: Getty Images

And it was Delly who delivered the knockout blow, burrowing into the teeth of the Tassie defence for the bucket that buried JackJumpers — and the late demons of games two and three.

“The boys trust me, but we had so many big plays,” Dellavedova said, post-game.

“CG (Chris Goulding), IC (Ian Clark), Jo (Lual-Acuil Jr) got that steal at the end. (Shea) Ili’s defence all night.

“We knew it was going to be a tough place to come in and win and we were going to need everybody.”

“We wanted it bad and we knew it was going to be tough.

“They (Tasmania) are a great team and it is going to be a good game on Sunday.”

Matthew Dellavedova and Chris Goulding embrace after Melbourne United’s big win. Picture: Getty Images

Lual-Acuil Jr’s steal with 7.2 seconds left — Tassie’s Sean Macdonald feeling the same pain as game three Dellavedova — helped send United’s top scorer Clark (18 points) to the line and he made one of two.

A moment of panic then came when the ball found McVeigh as time expired and he launched from deep in scenes reminiscent of his buzzer-beating marvel. This time, though, it was not to be.

The JackJumpers are feted for never giving up — and they never did, riding a 28-point night from the unstoppable McVeigh.

But a series decider in Melbourne might be a bridge too far, even for this remarkably resilient squad.

Advantage, Melbourne.

Originally published as NBL: Dellavedova leads United to win despite Tassie fans’ boos