The NBL1 West Men's finals all take place this Saturday night including the last ever game on the current showcourt in Kalgoorlie and the East Perth Eagles ending a 10-year playoff drought up against a powerful Rockingham Flames.
Week 1 of the finals see the top four teams play off to earn home court advantage for a preliminary final next week with the Joondalup Wolves at home to the Willetton Tigers, and the Geraldton Buccaneers hosting the Mandurah Magic.
The elimination finals then see four teams trying to stay alive with the East Perth Eagles at home to the Rockingham Flames and the Goldfields Giants playing their last ever game on the current court at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium against the Warwick Senators.
QUALIFYING FINALS
Joondalup Wolves v Willetton Tigers – HBF Arena, Saturday 7pm
Two teams with unfinished playoffs business in the NBL1 West do battle over a home preliminary final on Saturday night at HBF Arena with the Joondalup Wolves taking on the Willetton Tigers.
Both teams have been knocking on the door for some time for that ultimate success with the Wolves not winning a championship since 2015 and the Tigers not since 2010.
Earning the chance to play host to a preliminary final with a win on Saturday night could be significant in if they can breakthrough in 2024 as well.
The Wolves finished the season in second spot at 16-6 having started off winning the first seven matches before it was Willetton who ended that run also at HBF Arena.
Joondalup might have only won two of its last four matches, but still locked up second spot and with Jonathan Wade firing, CJ Turnage making the All First Team and new import Jacob Wiley fitting in tremendously, they are a team full of weapons.
Add in Ethan Elliott and Caleb Davis in their first seasons since crossing from the Warwick Senators while still possessing Gabe Chadinha, Jordan Wellsteed and Christian Jurlina, and it's a strong Joondalup line-up.
But so is that possessed by Willetton who still finished in third place at 15-7 despite losing five of the past six matches to close the regular season.
However, with a back court of Marshall Nelson, Michael Dupree, Damien Scott, Roosevelt Williams Jr and captain Andrew Black and then Michael Vigor and Deng Gak up front backed up by Tom Gerovich and Aiden Fitzgerald, and there's a lot for coach Adam Nener to work with.
Vigor is already a championship winner from back in 2017 at the Perth Redbacks and now having just reached his 300-game milestone, is confident of what Willetton is capable of.
"We've 100 per cent got the team that's able to do it. Earlier in the season there was a feeling around the group with the way we were playing that we were all in tune and humming," Vigor said.
"But like any season you have ups and downs, and injuries and guys in and out of the squad. I still think, though, that the sky is the limit for this squad and when it all comes together for us, I do believe that this team could reach the ultimate goal.
"Right now we're just trying to finish the regular season off the best we can and hopefully by mid-August we're there and a chance to win it all."
Geraldton Buccaneers v Mandurah Magic – Active West Stadium, Saturday 7pm
If there is one match you won't want to take your eyes off for a second this weekend it's the Geraldton Buccaneers at home to the Mandurah Magic.
With the reigning MVP Joel Murray out there for the Mandurah Magic and a former MVP Josh Braun there for the Buccs, and it's just the tip of the iceberg of what will make it a must-watch affair.
Coming off winning last year's championship, Geraldton has finished the 2024 regular season four games clear in top spot with a 20-2 record, but those lone two defeats did come surprisingly on their home floor.
Mandurah arrives with coach Mark Utley having done a masterful job putting together a team to go from winning two games in 2023 to now ending up fourth in 2024 at 13-9.
However, taking on the Buccs and three-time Coach of the Year Dayle Joseph is the tallest task in the competition especially with a thousand Geraldton locals behind them.
The Buccaneers will be hoping to earn a home preliminary final and to not have to leave home until a potential Grand Final with a team fit and firing, and deep and talented.
Not only is there 2019 MVP Braun, but there's two Grand Final MVP's in the line-up with Johny Narkle and Liam Hunt along with championship winning captains Aaron Ralph and Mat Wundenberg.
Nik DeSantis is in his first season and made the All Second Team with the team rounded out with Junior Garbrah, Bob Griechen, Joshua Keyes and Ryan Blanchett.
They play host to a Mandurah team led by MVP Murray who was scintillating in his first season as a pro with 34.3 points, 7.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game including 41 points in Geraldton two weeks ago.
Michael Durr also was named to the All Second Team and was Defensive Player of the Year while Lachlan Bertram is the most improved player in the league and was also awarded the Youth Player of the Year.
Throw in Jarrod Molnar, Jermaine Malie and Julian Pesava and coach Utley has done a brilliant job to put together a top four team.
Buccaneers captain Aaron Ralph is excited for what could lie ahead for his team with the 456-game two-time championship winner now just 23 three-pointers short of the all-time league record.
"It would be a cool little bonus of course, but not one of us guys are thinking that far ahead right now," Ralph said.
"We're just focusing on the job at hand and the old cliché of one week at a time. It doesn’t matter who you're playing in this league, nothing's easy and every team is tough and capable of beating you.
"But if those sort of things did happen, it would be a lot of fun to be part of especially if it's a sold out RAC Arena. That would be pretty sick but that's a long way away and we have a lot of things we want to achieve before then and even thinking about that."
ELIMINATION FINALS
Goldfields Giants v Warwick Senators – Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium, Saturday 7.30pm
The Goldfields Giants and Warwick Senators both have teams loaded with firepower, but by Saturday night only one of them will still be alive in the 2024 season.
At different points of the season both the Giants and Senators looked capable of being top four teams, but neither could quite get there and now are in a cut-throat situation the rest of the way.
The Giants had the chance to lock up fourth spot last Saturday before losing to the East Perth Eagles to end up fifth at 13-9 but they did get to earn a home final on Saturday night.
It will be the last game on this current court at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium before the redevelopment and new showcourt is unveiled for the start of the 2025 season.
The Senators arrive having finished in eighth position at 11-11 and having lost the last two matches, but with their talent and experience, they will hold no fears of flying to Kalgoorlie on Saturday afternoon, and returning home winners a few hours later.
There's plenty of firepower on both teams and Goldfields did well with their imports this season with De'Sean Parsons named to the All First Team and Randy Bell to the All Second Team.
They are combining for 49.5 points, 16.7 rebounds and 10.5 assists a game with both in their first seasons in the league.
Speaking of dynamic duos, the Senators also struck gold with new coach Andrew Cooper doing well to secure Perth Wildcats guard Michael Harris and former Adelaide 36ers import Todd Withers.
That pair combined for 52.0 points, 15.1 rebounds and 8.4 assists throughout the season with Harris named to the All First Team and Withers to the All Second Team.
The Giants then also feature point guard Damon Ballantyne, sharpshooting captain Jerome Reid along with Mayo Malek and Kon Anguik.
The Senators also still possess championship winning captain Cody Ellis along with emerging pair George Pearl and Tyler Shand with Brody England settling in nicely at his third club.
Over the course of his 226-game career, Ellis is no stranger to trips to either Kalgoorlie or Geraldton for playoff match ups, and knows how tough they are, but has full confidence in his Senators team.
"Looking forward to going to Kal for this first playoffs game. Both teams are fairly familiar with each other as we have played twice in the last month. This is the first time both teams will be at full strength going in," Ellis said.
"It's always a tough one playing in the country, but excuses stay at the door, especially in playoffs. Excited to see how we perform because I believe we can play with anyone in the league."
East Perth Eagles v Rockingham Flames – Morley Sport and Recreation Centre, Saturday 7.30pm
The East Perth Eagles haven’t beaten the Rockingham Flames since they were on the way to the 2014 championship as the two teams prepare to meet on Saturday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.
The Flames have become a powerhouse of the competition in recent years including winning the 2022 NBL1 West and National Championships along with then finishing in top spot at the end of 2023 and making the championship game at the National Finals.
That means it's a Rockingham group accustomed to playing at this time of the year coming up against an East Perth team who has now qualified for the finals in the men's competition for the first time since winning the championship back in 2014.
Not only are East Perth playing finals for the first time in 10 years, they are attempting to beat Rockingham for the first time since beating them in the quarter finals of that playoff series back in 2014.
The Flames have beaten the Eagles in the last 16 meetings between the two teams by an average of 16.9 points heading into Saturday night's match up.
It was a mixed bag of a season for the Flames but they did finish off winning six of the last nine games, and with a team featuring Devondrick Walker, Gorjok Gak, Ryan Godfrey, Justin Beard and Jeremy Combs, they remain a genuine threat.
East Perth will be without Sunday Dech who is at the Paris Olympic Games with South Sudan, but the Eagles have gone big in the back half of the season regularly starting Lee Roberts, Lukas Milner, David Okwera and then either Sharif Watson or Sebit Reath along with captain and point guard Taylor Young.
Reath is fresh off 33 points last Saturday for the Eagles against the Giants as they booked in a home final, and he can't wait to take on the Flames.
"I had no idea about that (not having beaten Rockingham in 10 years) but it's another exciting opportunity for us to tick off this year," Reath said.
"They are a very good team, but I feel like we match up with them really well and we just need to be good against them for 40 minutes. We just have to be better than them for 40 minutes on the night and that's it. Hopefully that's the case."
