Sometimes you can't deny the heart of a champion and Liam Hunt was never going to let the Geraldton Buccaneers lose a second straight NBL1 West Grand Final as he inspired his team to the stirring 86-80 come from behind win over the Joondalup Wolves.
Hunt was the hero for the Buccaneers in 2019 when he was Grand Final MVP and while it was teammate Johny Narkle who took home the award this time around, he deserves enormous credit for the Buccs winning a championship for the third time at the expense of the Wolfpack on Saturday night at Bendat Basketball Centre.
MEN'S GRAND FINAL PREVIEW – GERALDTON BUCCANEERS V JOONDALUP WOLVES
RALPH WITH SO MUCH TO BE EXCITED ABOUT AHEAD OF GRAND FINAL
BIG IOANNIS WANTS WOLVES CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE FOCUSING ON NEXT TARGET
NBL1 WEST RECAP | PRELIMINARY FINALS
MEN'S GRAND FINAL
Hunt, Ralph stand tall when it matters for Buccs
The Geraldton Buccaneers were staring down the barrel of consecutive Grand Final defeats with the Joondalup Wolves on target to break their string of horror runs on the big night, but when Liam Hunt got rolling, nothing was going to stop the Buccs.
Losing was scarcely an option for either team coming into the 2023 NBL1 West Grand Final with the Buccaneers looking to avoid losing back-to-back deciders after going so close last year but being overrun by eventual National Championships the Rockingham Flames.
Joondalup, meanwhile, reached five consecutive Grand Finals between 2015-19 but lost the last four of them including that final one to the Buccs in 2019. While captain Jordan Wellsteed was the lone remaining player, the Wolves didn’t want to be losing a fifth straight decider.
Wild, wild finish from Malik Meunier ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) August 12, 2023
Watch the #NBL1WestFinals Grand Final Live & Free on @kayosports Freebies ? pic.twitter.com/QishYq4cP2
It was a sold out crowd at Bendat Basketball Centre for the occasion and it was a seesawing first half with the Buccs leading by as much as seven points in the second quarter before the Wolves took charge.
Joondalup would score 16 straight points to lead by double-figures and by as much as 12 in the third period, and still eight in the fourth.
However, Geraldton just wouldn’t be denied and it was 2019 Grand Final MVP Liam Hunt who led the charge. He started the Buccs' charge with a three from when they were down eight with just over seven minutes to go.
From there, Geraldton outscored Joondalup 24 points to 10 to secure the eventual six-point win and to make it a third championship for the Buccaneers to go with the triumphs in 2000 and 2019.
The Wolves have now lost five Grand Finals since winning the SBL championship in 2015.
Liam Hunt might have been the spark that made the Buccs undeniable down the stretch, but it was the emerging Johny Narkle who was the standout across the four quarters as he claimed the Grand Final MVP award.
He finished the night with 21 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Hunt ended the game with another 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks as he now has gone one better than his all-time great 382-game veteran father, Dan, by winning two championships with the Buccaneers.
Sydney Kings NBL championship winner Zac Gattorna had a fascinating battle with Quintin Dove for a lot of the night and ended up with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists.
NBL hopeful Malik Meunier produced another encouraging performance on the big stage with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists while Shaun Stewart contributed nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
Aaron Ralph is now a championship winning captain as part of his 434-game career where he hit a trademark massive three in the fourth quarter on his way to eight points, two rebounds and two assists.
His great mate, and 2019 championship winning captain, Mat Wundenberg is now a dual title winner too and ends the season on 499 games over his career with Geraldton.
Ioannis Dimakopoulos getting the crowd involved?? ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) August 12, 2023
Watch the #NBL1WestFinals Grand Final Live & Free on @kayosports Freebies ? pic.twitter.com/ibtYDxqOKX
It will be a tough defeat for the Wolves to get over given the strong position they were in and with the knowledge they now miss the chance to take part in the National Finals next weekend on their home floor.
Quintin Dove did his stocks no harm, though, with a massive performance for the Wolfpack made up of 34 points and seven rebounds.
CJ Turnage added 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, Ioannis Dimakopoulos 10 points, nine boards and five assists, Bryan Michaels nine points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Christian Jurlina eight points.
The marquee match up of the Grand Final was always going to be Zac Gattorna up against Quintin Dove, and they managed to open the scoring for their respective teams, Gattorna at the foul line for the Buccs and Dove from three-point range for the Wolves.
Johny Narkle then got rolling with a pair of triples for the Buccaneers and despite the 13 first quarter points from Dove for the Wolves, it was Geraldton leading 24-19 at the end of one.
Geraldton's lead got out to seven to start the second quarter but then the Wolves mounted their charge including Mathiang Muo landing from deep against the team he played in last year's Grand Final with.
Then heading towards half-time, Christian Jurlina also hit from downtown for Joondalup before a three-point play from Dove saw them take the lead, and from there the Wolves went into the half-time break on top 48-39.
Narkle knocked down another pair of three balls to open the second half promisingly for the Buccaneers and his teammate Shaun Stewart also hit one, but the Wolfpack continued to have the answers.
Joondalup's lead grew to nine on an and-one play from Bryan Michaels and then 12 when CJ Turnage connected from three-point territory with 2:45 to go in the third.
It was an eerily similar position to what Geraldton was in against Rockingham last year, so the Buccs knew it was now or never to start a charge like what the Flames did to them.
Captain Aaron Ralph hit a floater on the buzzer to give the Buccs hope with the deficit back to eight and then it was the two stalwarts who fired the Buccaneers on top in the early parts of the fourth.
Hunt and Ralph both connected on three-pointers to give Geraldton the lead with 5:45 to play before Hunt extended the lead to five with a strong finish inside that became a three-point play.
Hunt hit another huge three with three minutes to play to make the lead nine for the Buccs, and while the Wolves did keep fighting, that proved to be the killer blow and the Buccaneers celebrated wildly with Hunt leading the charge after being told in 2020 he'd never play basketball again with his horrific leg injury.
Zac Gattorna got ?????? ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) August 12, 2023
Only a bucket in it in the West! ?
Watch the #NBL1WestFinals Grand Final Live & Free on @kayosports Freebies ? pic.twitter.com/3cKUGVtVB5
