Nathan Sobey showed why he's still one of the best in the country, Deng Deng sent a reminder of what he's capable of and with the Galloway brothers and captain Jason Ralph with them, the Ipswich Force are the NBL1 North champions for 2023.
Ipswich had never won a championship previously and that looked decidedly unlikely after losing Grand Final Game 1 to the Gold Coast Rollers on Friday night.
However, the Force responded to win Game 2 on Saturday and then continued the momentum in remarkable fashion to win 109-85 to secure the association's first ever title.
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Deng, Sobey deliver first ever championship to Ipswich
With Nathan Sobey and Deng Deng proving unstoppable with great support around them, the Ipswich Force dominated the NBL1 North Grand Final Series after losing Game 1 on Friday to secure the association's first ever championship on Sunday.
Despite losing Game 1 on Friday night at Carrara Stadium, Ipswich took control over the weekend with a brilliant eight quarters of basketball led by Sobey and Deng, but with great support from Jaylin and Kyrin Galloway, captain Jason Ralph and with cameos from Matt Hodgson.
It had been a scintillating Grand Final Series so far in the NBL1 North with the reigning champion Gold Coast too strong in Game 1 beating Ipswich 100-86.
WHAT A QUARTER ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) August 6, 2023
Ipswich made 8?? triples, capped off by Michael Fleming's buzzer-beater ?
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Jason Cadee (23 points, 16 assists, nine rebounds) and Todd Blanchfield (27 points, 14 boards) led the charge in that win for Gold Coast with good support from Preston Le Gassick (20 points, seven assists, four rebounds, three steals) and Elijah Kamu (12 points, four boards).
That had the defending champs one win away from securing back-to-back titles and with having two chances at home over the weekend, but Ipswich returned on Saturday night on a mission to make amends for that Game 1.
Gold Coast put up 30 points in the first eight minutes of Game 2 with Blanchfield on fire on his way to 40 points for the night, but Ipswich took control more and more the longer the game went.
With Nathan Sobey and Deng Deng leading the charge with help from Kyrin and Jaylin Galloway along with the poise and leadership of Jason Ralph, Ipswich took control and delivered 31 points to 12 in the fourth quarter on the way to the 119-98 victory.
That set up a mouth watering Game 3 on Sunday afternoon at Carrara Stadium and it was Gold Coast who scored the opening four points before Ipswich got on the board with a three-pointer from Nathan Sobey.
Sobey then hit another and Deng Deng joined in and suddenly the Force were leading 9-4 but they were far from done. Deng and Sobey both knocked down another each from downtown and it was 15-4 and Ipswich once again had all the momentum.
Gold Coast hit back but Ipswich answered with yet another three ball from Jaylin Galloway before still leading 31-24 by quarter-time.
It was another remarkable opening to the second quarter from the Force with Sobey nailing two more three-point bombs. Deng then made another and all of a sudden Ipswich was out to a 16-point lead and that historic championship was becoming a reality.
Heading towards half-time and Deng scored again inside with the Ipswich lead growing to 18 before still leading 58-46 at the main break with Deng having been unstoppable with 18 points and five rebounds on 4/5 three-point shooting.
Sobey also had 17 points with 5/6 shooting from deep and what Ipswich had done in the last six quarters since losing Game 1 had been remarkable.
There was absolutely no let up from the Force as they came out on fire to start the second half too with three-point daggers from Jaylin Galloway and Jason Ralph. Then by the time Deng knocked down two more from beyond the arc, the lead was out to 20 and then 23 when Sobey hit yet another triple too.
NATHAN SOBEY IS SCORCHING HOT ??
— NBL1 (@NBL1) August 6, 2023
2??0?? points and 6?? triples to push reigning Champs ?
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That lead got out to as much as 26 points in the fourth quarter and when Gold Coast coach Anthony Petrie received a second technical and got ejected with 6:30 to go in the game, the result was beyond doubt.
Ipswich would go on to secure the 24-point victory to claim the association's first ever championship and they did in remarkable fashion against the defending champions who looked near invincible at times in 2023, and indeed in Game 1 of the Grand Final Series.
Ipswich ended up shooting a scorching 22/46 from three-point territory at 47.8 per cent for Game 3 with Deng incredible making 8/14 of those with Sobey adding 6/8.
For Deng and Sobey to contribute 14/22 three-point shooting and combine for 42 points, 17 rebounds and five assists was just too much for Gold Coast to handle.
Sobey was named Grand Final MVP after closing out the series in Game 3 delivering 21 points, four rebounds and three assists.
It had to be a toss up between he and Deng, and Deng also finished with 41 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals in Game 3 on Sunday afternoon to send a reminder to any NBL clubs with a roster spot left what he can do.
Jason Ralph is the heart and soul of this Ipswich team and is now a championship captain. His performances in the last two games were critical and in Game 3 he had 10 assists to go with three points and five rebounds.
Jaylin Galloway also produced 13 points, four rebounds and two assists for the champions, Matt Hodgson seven points and eight rebounds, Cameron Goldfinch seven points and two boards, Michael Fleming six points and two steals, and Kyrin Galloway six points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
It will be a tough loss for Gold Coast to take after being one win away from back-to-back championships after winning on Friday night, but the Illawarra Hawks NBL bound Todd Blanchfield had another 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Captain Jason Cadee had another 16 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and three assists ahead of returning to the Adelaide 36ers this NBL season with Preston Le Gassick contributing 16 points, three boards, three assists and three steals on shooting 4/6 from three-point territory.
DENG DENG MAKES A STATEMENT ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) August 6, 2023
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