Feature images supplied via NBL1.com.au / Melissa Belanic | Just B Photography @justbphotoau
The First Semi-Final of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central Finals Mens saw a potent display from the South Adelaide Panthers in the final quarter and a half to book their place in the decider in a night of thrills, spills and star power.
Here is the result from Friday’s Qualifying Semi-Final
Superb Smith and Woollacott medallist steer South to decider over Eagles
An out of the blocks performance from the “mid-range marvel” himself in Jeremy Smith and the Woollacott Medallist steered the South Adelaide Panthers to their first grand final appearance since 2022 with a dismantling of the Forestville Eagles 88-73 at the Jungle. The packed out Mitchell Park venue was loud and raucous but for the home side it wasn’t just the two stars that played the star roles in the evening.
Smith opened the match with a basket with him and Starling pounding the free throw line to create multiple three-point play opportunities and put the Eagles under pressure defensively.
Opening up a 10-2 lead the Eagles were struggling to find answers till Greg Mays finished a reverse slam high above the rim to make it 17-6. The Eagles defence tightened up but Smith was still dominant over Eagles defender Brad Rathjen who unfortunately succumbed to an ankle injury late in the first quarter. The Eagles brought it back to 23-18 thanks to Mays inside finishing weathering the early South storm after one.
Smith continued to be busy but with Rathjen sidelined enter Fiston Ipassou as the former Adelaide 36ers DP produced some his best with a string of scores (12 points in the term) and with Uche Dibaimaka (seven for the quarter) starting to find space made some tough finishes to give the Eagles the lead 30-29. Mays basket over a high outstretched vertical Starling called for timeout from the home side and Graham Kubank a change in structure.
Daniel Johnson (10 points in the first half) continued to be patient finding Mays active around the paint again but Starling’s steal on the eve of half-time and upstairs finish on the rim brought it back to 47-44 at the half.
It felt as though the Panthers were lucky to be as close as they were with the Eagles leading a 25-15 rebound count and Mays and DJ looking like they were about to spread their wings for the night.
Starling began the third with and-one but the Eagles quickly broke away and looked all of a sudden to have the game in their grasp 59-50. Kubank turned to a pair of spark plugs in Jarryd Hoppo and Ricardo Martin (seven points and rebounds) who changed the energy and the flow in the building with Martin active at the defensive end on the glass and Hoppo with some quick points including the big triple to bring the Jungle to its feet. Starling put more finishing touches on an 8-0 run on the rim to bring it back to 60-58 and the Eagles quickly found themselves in a massive hole.
Martin then fed Smith to awaken him with his first points since halftime then produced the most outrageous play of the night so far with and-one play over the verticality of Mays to put him in some deep foul trouble leaving it 65-61 with one to play. The 14-1 run across five minutes proved to be match-telling.
When the chips are down you can always rely on Adam Doyle to swing you across the line and he swung hard first with a soft touch while crashing into the advertising signage then pocketing another finish to even it again. The Panthers found some touch from different sources but it was at the defensive end that the Panthers got their money with charges drawn by Sam Johns and Codey Ellison (10 points, 11 rebounds) in succession - Starling’s tough mid range jumper had Andy Simons seeing enough with timeout to the Eagles at 75-67.
It didn’t get much better from there for the away side with Smith an even more outrageous and-one triple with the four point play completed with the game good as done. Smith’s mid-range and Kubank’s easy reverse find with no defender underneath the hoop sealing the Panthers 19th grand final appearance in the history of the league.
Smith was another level in this one with a game high 31 points backed up by the Woollacott medallist Alex Starling with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six steals but they had winners at both ends of the floor to back them up through the four terms. Greg Mays was outstanding with 21 points, while Fiston Ipassou finished with 16 points to cover for Rathjen when he went down.
The Panthers created multiple opportunities in the second half to finish with twelve steals and 16 second chance points with a last quarter and a half of 37-13.
The South Adelaide Panthers will have the week off and await the winner of Forestville Eagles and Saturday night’s Sturt Sabres versus West Adelaide Bearcats matchup but are in the box seat to claim their 12th state league championship.
SOUTH ADELAIDE PANTHERS 88 (Smith 31, Starling 23, Ellison 10)
FORESTVILLE EAGLES 73 (Mays 21, Ipassou 16, Doyle, Johnson 12)
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