The Grand Finals in the NBL1 East are set with the Sutherland Sharks to take on the Newcastle Falcons in the women's decider while the Maitland Mustangs have a third chance at breaking through against the Canberra Gunners.
RECAP NBL1 EAST | SEMI FINALS SUNDAY
WOMEN
Norths Bears (77) lost to Sutherland Sharks (96)
The Sutherland Sharks have roared into the NBL1 East Grand Final with Lauren Nicholson and Maddy Norris combining for 50 points in the 96-77 win against the defending champion Norths Bears.
The Bears had home court advantage at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday afternoon attempting to keep their hopes alive of making it back-to-back championships.
On the back of that thrilling championship triumph last year, Norths finished the regular season in second spot with just two losses before advancing to the preliminary final at home with the nail-biting Grand Final rematch in the qualifying final over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.
Sutherland finished the regular season in in fifth spot but were clearly looming as a threat with Lauren Nicholson back in the line-up late in the campaign and then Vanessa Panousis returning last week after an overseas sojourn.
Sutherland beat Canberra and Albury-Wodonga by a combined 32 points over the last two weeks to set up the match up with the Bears in the preliminary final, and they kept the momentum going.
After falling down seven early on away from home, the Sharks had opened up a 29-20 lead by the end of the first quarter and then blew the game open further in the second term.
Sutherland completed a 13-0 run into the second quarter and the lead was out to as much as 27 points as the visitors piled on 28 points to 10 in the period to go into the half-time break on top 57-30.
That lead got out to as much as 34 points in the second half too for the Sharks and even with scoring 15 straight points themselves, there would be no miracle fightback from the Bears as their championship defence came to an end.
The Sharks ended up scoring the 19-point victory to be heading into the Grand Final with a six-match winning streak with Lauren Nicholson once again outstanding with 25 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists on 9/14 shooting from the floor and 6/6 at the free-throw line.
Maddy Norris came up huge as well for Sutherland with 25 points, four rebounds and two assists on 6/9 three-point shooting while Aliza Fabbro added 18 points, six boards and four assists.
Captain Olivia White also produced 10 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two steals while Vanessa Panousis was playing her second game upon returning and found some form with 10 points, six assists and three rebounds.
The Bears fall one step short of another Grand Final appearance with Carla Pitman doing all she could with 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals with 4/6 three-point shooting.
Emilie Bessell added 13 points on 6/6 shooting too in just 11 minutes while Caitlyn Martin provided 10 points and three rebounds, Maddie O'Hehir nine points, three boards and two steals, and Emily Simons seven points.
NORTHS BEARS 77 (Pitman 30, Bessell 13, Martin 10)
SUTHERLAND SHARKS 96 (Norris 25, Nicholson 25, Fabbro 18)
Newcastle Falcons (88) defeated Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (72)
The Newcastle Falcons handed the Albury-Wodonga Bandits a first loss of 2024 and now have knocked out the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to reach the Grand Final with the 88-72 home preliminary final win.
Redemption was the story of the season in 2024 for the Sea Eagles on the back of last year's heartbreaking Grand Final loss to the Norths Bears, and they did give themselves a shot with a third place finish at the end of the regular season.
It was another heartbreaker in the qualifying final against the Bears in a dramatic finish before they bounced back last Sunday with the thumping win over the Central Coast Crusaders.
However, to get back to a Grand Final they were going to have to beat the Falcons at Newcastle Basketball Stadium, and it was a fresh home team that Manly Warringah were going to have to overcome.
The Falcons ended the regular season in fourth place before handing the Bandits their first loss of the season in the qualifying final to book in home court advantage for the preliminary final.
It was an incredible statement made by Newcastle in the opening quarter too to blow the game apart by quarter-time.
After Manly Warringah led 7-6 after almost four minutes, a three-pointer from Kate Kingham started a run of 17 consecutive points for the Falcons topped off by a layup after a steal to Elissa Brett.
Newcastle would end up leading 25-12 by quarter-time on the back of that and try as they might to mount a fight back, the Sea Eagles could never get close enough to strike the rest of the way.
The Falcons would end up leading by as much as 21 points in the third quarter and 24 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 16-point victory to reach the Grand Final and now attempt to win a first women's championship since the triumphs of 2016, 2019 and 2021 as the Hunters.
Last season's MVP Nicole Munger was once again outstanding in the win for Newcastle with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists on the back of shooting 3/3 from beyond the three-point line and 5/6 at the foul line.
She had plenty of help too with Isla Juffermans putting up 19 points, 17 rebounds and two assists with Elissa Brett adding 17 points and five boards, and Hannah Chicken 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
It's another devastating end to a season that promised so much for Manly Warringah with Alex Delaney doing all she could with 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists with 4/7 three-point shooting.
Zoey Miller provided 15 points and six assists along with Josie Bulman 12 points and five rebounds, and Bree Delaney six points and six boards.
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 88 (Munger 20, Juffermans 19, Brett 17)
MANLY WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES 72 (A Delaney 25, Miller 15, Bulman 12)
MEN
Maitland Mustangs (94) defeated Centre of Excellence (79)
The Maitland Mustangs will be hoping it's third time lucky booking in a third successive NBL1 East Grand Final appearance with the 94-79 home preliminary final win over the Centre of Excellence.
The 2024 season for the Mustangs has been all about trying to get that third crack at a first championship in the club's history having lost Grand Finals not only the past two years but also back in 2010.
The last two losses to the Canberra Gunners and the Sutherland Sharks have been by a combined six points so it's been mighty tough to stomach for the Mustangs to be that close, but yet without breaking through for a maiden championship.
On the back of that, Maitland won 17 of 20 games throughout the regular season to finish second and then to go on and beat the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in dramatic fashion in a qualifying final.
That had the Mustangs earn hosting rights of the preliminary final at Maitland Federation Centre to take on a Centre of Excellence team who had a rollercoaster ride in 2024.
The CoE went on a nine-game winning run mid-season but ended up in fourth spot at 14-6 and then finished the season a fortnight earlier than everyone else, and played a first game in three weeks to open the finals.
The Centre of Excellence ended up losing to Canberra Gunners in the qualifying final but hit back in the semi finals beating the Albury-Wodonga Bandits to set up the preliminary final match up on the road to the Mustangs.
The Basketball Australia young guns then started well for an early five-point lead, but Maitland turned the tide to end up leading 29-20 by the end of the opening period and the Mustangs would never look back.
The home team would have been anything but satisfied with falling short of a Grand Final in 2024 and as a result the Mustangs opened up a 13-point lead during the second frame on the way to still be leading 45-36 at the half-time interval.
Then just as the Centre of Excellence were picking up some momentum, Maitland took charge by scoring 13 consecutive points on the way to leading by as much as 16 in the third period.
The lead got out to 17 points as well in the fourth frame with the Mustangs going on to score the 15-point victory to book in a place in a third straight Grand Final, and fourth overall, and chasing that breakthrough championship triumph.
Reigning MVP Will Cranston-Lown was outstanding for the Mustangs in the win with 24 points, nine assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Christian Little also delivered 23 points, five assists and three rebounds, Will Mortimore 11 points and seven boards, and Matthew Gray 10 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.
The young talent on the Centre of Excellence team will have gained a lot from playing three finals matches this season with Jacob Furphy putting up another 22 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Kye Savage added 13 points and two rebounds, Dash Daniels 12 points and seven boards, and Emmett Adair eight points and seven rebounds.
MAITLAND MUSTANGS 94 (Cranston-Lown 24, Little 23, Mortimore 11)
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 79 (Furphy 22, Savage 13, Daniels 12)
Canberra Gunners (73) defeated Sydney Comets (55)
The Canberra Gunners have been the standout NBL1 East team all season and now are in the Grand Final with a chance for a second championship in three years after a dominant defensive performance to beat the Sydney Comets 73-55.
The Comets arrived at Tuggeranong for the preliminary final on Saturday evening in hot form having won seven of the last eight games of the regular season with Biwali Bayles in hot form in the back end of the campaign.
Sydney then beat both the Inner West Bulls and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on the way to the preliminary final with Canberra awaiting them with the 2022 champions having finished the regular season in top spot at 18-2.
The Gunners then beat the Centre of Excellence by 21 points in the qualifying final to earn home court rights for the preliminary final, but it was the Comets who had the better of the start opening up a 10-point lead in the first term.
Sydney were still leading 21-16 by quarter-time, but for the rest of the night it was a stunning defensive performance from Canberra and the Comets would only manage 34 points across the rest of the contest.
The Gunners took charge of the contest in the second period with 26 points to nine to be on top 42-30 by half-time.
The Comets did stay within touch in the third quarter and had cut the Canberra lead to six by three quarter-time, but Canberra wouldn’t be denied and dominated the last quarter with 17 points to five.
The Gunners ended up winning the preliminary final by 18 points to advance to the Grand Final to attempt now to win a second championship in the past three years.
The defensive performance after quarter-time from Canberra was remarkable holding the Comets to 34 points in the last 30 minutes and to end the night shooting 33 per cent from the field and 4/24 from downtown along with 5/13 at the foul line.
Will Mayfield delivered 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win for the Gunners with 2022 Grand Final MVP Glenn Morison providing 15 points, 11 boards, three blocks and two assists.
James Toohey also delivered 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks, Lachlan Smith eight points and four boards, Derek Emelifeonwu seven points, three rebounds and three assists, and Cameron Pender six points, nine boards, two assists and two steals.
Biwali Bayles did close the back end of the season in hot form for the Comets and he tried hard again on Saturday night for 22 points and 16 rebounds, but he did struggle shooting at 10/31 along with having six turnovers.
Obi Kyei added 15 points and 13 rebounds for Sydney, and Johnny Crnogorac six points, seven boards, four blocked shots and three assists.
CANBERRA GUNNERS 73 (Mayfield 19, Morison 15, Toohey 12)
SYDNEY COMETS 55 (Bayles 22, Kyei 15, Crnogorac 6)
