Saturday will see the Canberra Gunners show their trophy off to the fans at home as the NBL1 East Grand Final rematch will take place against the Maitland Mustangs.
Beating the Mustangs by three points in the Hills Hornets stadium, the Gunners return to the NBL1 East as the inaugural champions and the hunted.
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Finals MVP Glenn Morison was outstanding last season, averaging 18.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. He cemented his legacy in the NBL1 with a 28-point, 11 rebound and four assist performance in the win over Maitland last season.
Inner West Bulls commentator Matt McQuade called the Grand Final last season and said that this weekend’s rematch will be a fantastic clash of the two titans, James Hunter and Glenn Morison.
“I just think they (the teams) were well matched. They seem to match up well against each other, Hunter and Morrison, that was the fulcrum of it,” McQuade said.
“I'm a massive fan of Morison, I love these guys that just play with great fundamentals and great smarts. And Hunter’s the same way actually, he's probably a bit bigger than Glen, maybe a little even a little more mobile.
“But man Morrison, he's got sneaky hops. He'll get up and throw something down on you when you least expect it and he'll he's got a little sneaky change of pace that causes problems. He's a wide body a wide load in the post and he can do a lot of things around.
“So whoever wins that matchup, I think will be the team to get the win.”
McQuade explained each team's roster's core remains intact however, both teams have had major changes. The Gunners lost both William Mayfield (NBL1 South Mount Gambier Pioneers) and Akech Allir (NBL1 Central North Adelaide Rockets) – while retaining NBL1 East Defensive Player of the Year and Round 1’s Player of the Week James Toohey.
The Mustangs have some moves, including signing NCAA star Kevin Warren, who is yet to play, McQuade said if he is as advertised, the Mustangs have a chance to knock off the Gunners on Saturday.
“It's going to be a hell of a game,” he said.
“There's no doubt about that. rematches are always very very special. So yeah, really looking forward to it.”
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Feature image via: Discovery One Photography
