BASKETBALL
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Regardless of whether or not he leads the Hawks to a semi-final upset of title hot shots Perth, Oscar Forman will always remember the night he torched the Sydney Kings.
Forman led from the front in last week's 100-87 victory over the Kings, draining four three-point shots in the first quarter and finishing with eight in the club's biggest game of the season.
He notched a team-high 26 points and explained later that he wasn't all that surprised his number was called more than usual.
"Coming into the game, I knew I usually get quite a few open shots against Sydney because they double and try to trap [Rotnei Clarke] a bit, so I came in early and got up three times as many shots as I normally do before a game," Forman said.
"I was just making sure I was aggressive shooting the shot when I was open. The guys did a fantastic job of giving up their own shot to pass it on to me."
Only Wollongong's most staunch followers give them much chance of conquering the Wildcats in the best-of-three semi-final series, which gets under way on Friday at Perth Arena.
But the Hawks won seven of their last nine games to grab the final play-off spot and can never be written off.
"It's amazing to see where we came from, not only the wins but the way our style evolved," Forman said.
"We were a team scoring in the 60s and 70s, and now we're a team that's usually pushing 100."
Forman expects crafty import Kevin Tiggs to play an important role off the bench in the post-season.
Tiggs missed three games with a knee injury towards the end of the season before making a strong return in the final three games.
He was instrumental in the win over the Kings, tallying 19 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
"Kevin's an interesting one, because a lot of times he seems out of position, and it's probably because he is, but he's doing something just purely because he's got the feel of the game and that feeling to create," Forman said.
"He knows what he's doing."