The Maitland Mustangs are off to their third straight NBL1 East Grand Final and are looking to avenge the disappointments of the previous two.
Their first Grand Final appearance in the inaugural NBL1 East season ended in heartbreak, losing to the Canberra Gunners 73-76.
Maitland got their revenge in the Semi Finals in 2023, but fell short to the Sutherland Sharks in the decider in devastating fashion again with a 80-83 finish.
Despite the two painful memories, the team believes this is their year.
Coming off an MVP season in 2023, Will Cranstown-Lown knew the Mustangs needed just one more piece to get over the top – so he recruited his former college teammate in Christian Little.
Pegged as a defensive stopper, he has been exactly what Maitland needed. Rather than bringing in a high-level scorer, he’s complemented the team's existing group with 12 points, 3.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
Little explained after Maitland’s Preliminary Final over the Centre of Excellence, he’s ready to prove his worth.
“We’ve been talking about literally this exact game, we’ve been talking about playing Canberra in the Finals since December,” he told Caleb Fogarty.
“I got out here in December early so we get this job done, and we are ready to win. Point, blank, period.
“This is what we want, we wanted to be here. We can’t wait, we are ready to get the job done and finish the whole thing.”
Can Maitland finally win the championship and beat their rival? Or will Canberra go on to win their second championship in three seasons?
Tune into the NBL1 East Grand Final on Saturday, streaming from 5:30pm AEST via live and free Kayo Freebies.
