Recap NBL1 West | Finals Week 1 Saturday

Robbi Ryan and Emma Gandini lifted the Rockingham Flames to a home NBL1 West preliminary final while Devondrick Walker, Damon Ballantyne and CJ Turnage were match winners with Johny Narkle and Liam Hunt helping the Geraldton Buccaneers overcome Joel Murray's 42 points.

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Qualifying Final – Rockingham Flames (84) defeated Perry Lakes Hawks (75)

They came to the Rockingham Flames as a package deal and Robbi Ryan and Emma Gandini formed quite the impressive back court pairing to ensure their team overcame a gritty Perry Lakes Hawks 84-75.

A spot straight into a preliminary final next Saturday went on the line when the top seeded Flames played host to the fourth ranked Hawks at Mike Barnett Sports Complex on Saturday night.

The Flames finished the regular season clear in top spot with an 18-2 record but the Hawks had done a tremendous job to finish fourth at 14-6 despite losing Jayda Clark in the opening minutes of the season while experienced pair Morgan Ballantyne and Eryn Fisher also missed most of the campaign.

The stage was set for Perry Lakes to throw everything at upsetting Rockingham with the chance to host a preliminary final up for grabs, and that's exactly what the Hawks did.

Perry Lakes opened up a seven-point lead during the first quarter and were still clinging to the 24-23 advantage by the end of one.

The Rockingham defence kicked up a gear in the second frame as they held the Hawks to just six points and scored 19 themselves to hold a 42-30 lead by half-time.

That lead for the Flames did grow to 15 points in the third quarter but the Hawks still wouldn’t go away and they got back within three early in the fourth period when Grace Stone hit a jumper.

It was still a three-point game following a three-point play from Ash Isenbarger with five minutes on the clock but it was that three-point barrier they couldn’t quite push through.

Rockingham ended up doing enough to secure the nine-point win with a triple from Georgia Pineau with 1:15 to play proving the dagger blow.

The Flames will now stay at home to host a preliminary final next Saturday against either the Warwick Senators or Lakeside Lightning.

The back court of Robbi Ryan and Emma Gandini came up huge for Rockingham with the former finishing with 24 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals, and the latter 19 points, seven boards, three steals and two assists with 5/10 from downtown.

Georgia Pineau added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists, Nes'eya Parker-Williams 12 points and eight boards, and two-time MVP Alex Sharp nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Hawks will now play host to the Willetton Tigers in a fascinating semi-final match up on Thursday night with the winner to take on the Cockburn Cougars in a preliminary final.

Grace Stone finished with 19 points and four rebounds for Perry Lakes with All Second Team member Ash Isenbarger delivering 18 points, 12 boards, two steals and two blocked shots.

Sam Ashby added 14 points and three rebounds, Maddy Dennis 12 points, six boards and three assists, and Millie McCarthy eight points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals.

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 84 (Ryan 24, Gandini 19, Pineau 12, Parker-Williams 12)

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 75 (Stone 19, Isenbarger 18, Ashby 14)

MEN

Qualifying Final – Geraldton Buccaneers (106) defeated Mandurah Magic (100)

Despite the absence of two key starters, it was only when MVP Joel Murray fouled out after scoring 42 points that the Geraldton Buccaneers put the Mandurah Magic to bed largely thanks to Grand Final MVP pair Liam Hunt and Johny Narkle.

It always shaped as the match up to open the finals in the NBL1 West that would be the most exciting just given the firepower across both teams and the way they match up with Geraldton hosting Mandurah at Active West Stadium.

It well and truly delivered as well even if the Magic did arrive without key starting five pair Lachlan Bertram and Julian Pesava, who combined for 32.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists throughout the season.

However, the Magic led by coach Mark Utley weren’t going to let that stop them throwing everything at the Buccaneers and after all they did still have MVP Joel Murray and Defensive Player of the Year Michael Durr.

Geraldton, though, had finished four games clear on top at the end of the regular season on the back of winning last year's championship, and had the chance with a win to remain at home until a Grand Final should they win the preliminary final next week.

The Buccs raced out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter and the home team were still on top 33-25 by quarter-time, but the Magic refused to go away and the MVP Murray wasn’t going to let them go down without a hell of a fight.

As a result, Mandurah put up 33 points to 22 in the second quarter including going on a 13-0 run and that had the visitors leading 58-55 at the long break.

The Buccaneers had some work to do and they turned the tide impressively to turn that deficit into a 12-point lead in the third period.

The Magic kept on coming, though, and got back within striking distance with Murray breaking the 40-point barrier for a sixth time this season, but when he fouled out with a minute to play with just a four-point margin, Mandurah's hopes went with it.

Geraldton were able to secure the six-point win to get to stay at home for another week ahead of hosting a preliminary final next Saturday against either the Willetton Tigers or Rockingham Flames who will play off on Thursday first.

It was 2019 Grand Final MVP Liam Hunt and 2023 Grand Final MVP Johny Narkle the standouts in the win for the Buccs. Hunt finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds on 10/15 shooting with Narkle adding 29 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Nik DeSantis made the All Second Team and was mighty unlucky not to be in the First Team, and showed why in the win with 25 points, five rebounds and four assists with 3/5 three-point shooting.

Captain Aaron Ralph hit three more triples to close to within 20 of the all-time record with 13 points while Joshua Keyes contributed six points, seven rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals, and Josh Braun five points, seven boards, five assists and two blocks.

Mandurah gets another chance having finished fourth and will be at home to the Goldfields Giants on Friday night with the winner to move into a preliminary final on Saturday against the Joondalup Wolves.

MVP Joel Murray had another stunning performance for the Magic with 42 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals on 15/37 shooting from the field, 3/7 from three-point land and 9/12 at the free-throw line.

Michael Durr added 21 points, 16 rebounds and five assists with Jarrod Molnar contributing 21 points on 5/10 three-point shooting, and captain Chad Miegel eight points, three rebounds and two steals with 2/4 shooting from behind the three-point arc.

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 106 (Narkle 29, Hunt 26, DeSantis 25)

MANDURAH MAGIC 100 (Murray 42, Molnar 21, Durr 21)

Qualifying Final – Joondalup Wolves (96) defeated Willetton Tigers (78)

The Joondalup Wolves have had almost 12 whole months to wait for a chance to make up for losing last year's Grand Final and they made a statement at home on Saturday night with the 96-78 win over the Willetton Tigers.

The Wolves made a stirring run into last year's Grand Final upsetting the Rockingham Flames in a stunning preliminary final and then for a lot of that decider they appeared to have the measure of the Geraldton Buccaneers.

However, the Buccs ripped the championship away from them and now having put themselves in a strong position at the end of the regular season with a second placed finish, they were on a mission in the qualifying final at HBF Arena against the third ranked Willetton.

Both teams had mixed form coming into the playoffs with Joondalup winning just two of the last four games while Willetton claimed just one of the last six, but they had done enough to secure top three positions prior to that.

The Wolfpack came out on a mission and were leading already by 11 points and still being on top 29-20 by quarter-time.

Joondalup moved out to a lead of as much as 16 points in the second frame as well and were still in control leading 56-44 by half-time.

That advantage for the Wolves only kept growing in the second half too getting out to as much as 21 points in the third frame and 24 in the fourth before going on to score the eventual 18-point victory.

The win means that Joondalup will host a preliminary final next Saturday back at HBF Arena against either the Goldfields Giants or Mandurah Magic who will play on Friday night.

After being named to the All First Team a week earlier, CJ Turnage came up huge for the Wolfpack with 30 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

Caleb Davis is in his first season at the Wolves having crossed from the Warwick Senators and now is one game away from a Grand Final at his new club having delivered 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists while shooting 4/8 from downtown.

Christian Jurlina came up big for 19 points and five rebounds with Jacob Wiley adding nine points and nine boards, and another former Senator Ethan Elliott nine points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Willetton has earned a double chance and will now be at home to the Rockingham Flames on Thursday night highlighted by Marshall Nelson up against the team he won a championship with, and thought he would still be playing with in 2024 until late in the off-season.

Damien Scott produced 22 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers with Nelson adding 17 points, five boards, three assists and three steals.

Michael Dupree contributed 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, Michael Vigor 10 points, five boards and five assists, and Deng Gak seven points and 11 rebounds.

JOONDALUP WOLVES 96 (Turnage 30, Davis 21, Jurlina 19)

WILLETTON TIGERS 78 (Scott 22, Nelson 17, Dupree 13)

Elimination Final – Goldfields Giants (103) defeated Warwick Senators (88)

Goldfields Giants point guard Damon Ballantyne is showing he is only scratching the surface of his potential after a match-winning performance as his team bid farewell to their current home court beating the Warwick Senators 103-88.

Both the Giants and Senators had deep and talented enough rosters to consider themselves genuine contenders in 2024, but the reality was the season would be over for one of them after Saturday night's match up.

Goldfields missed the chance at securing a top four finish and finals double chance with last Saturday's loss to East Perth and instead ended up in fifth spot to play host to the Senators in the last game on the current showcourt at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium.

Warwick arrived having finished in eighth place but with a team featuring NBL level talent Todd Withers and Michael Harris along with the experience of Cody Ellis, and emerging brigade George Pearl, Brody England and Tyler Shand, and it shaped as a fascinating match up.

Goldfields were at home while the Senators flew to Kalgoorlie on Saturday afternoon just hours before tip-off attempting to do a hit-and-run job to keep their season alive.

The big guns did fire for either team on the night, but ultimately the difference was a breakout performance from Giants point guard Damon Ballantyne who is looking to take the next step in his career beyond this NBL1 West season with an eye to playing professionally somewhere.

He ended up making six three-pointers on the night with the Giants managing to hold a 24-21 lead by the end of the first quarter.

It was still a tight contest by half-time with the Senators having scored 30 points to 28 to cut the Giants advantage to 52-51 by the main break.

Goldfields had been in a similar position a week earlier with scores level with East Perth before ending up losing the game by 31 points and they were desperate to not let the same situation unfold.

The Giants took control in the third quarter by going on a stunning 17-0 scoring run to break the game open and to end up leading by as much as 23 points, and to win by 15 to keep their season alive.

The Giants will now hit the road on Friday night to take on the Mandurah Magic with the winner to advance to a preliminary final 24 hours later against the Joondalup Wolves.

Damon Ballantyne has had a strong season at point guard for the Giants but he turned match-winner on Saturday night with 30 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals on 6/13 three-point shooting.

De'Sean Parsons added 20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals in a brilliant triple-double having been named to the All First Team while Randy Bell had 23 points, nine boards and six assists after making the All Second Team.

Mayo Malek also had 14 points and eight rebounds on 6/6 shooting from the floor while Kon Anguik contributed 16 points and five boards.

The season is over for the Senators but the work done by Andrew Cooper in his first season has provided a strong platform to build upon and they will be thinking what could have been had the signing of Zac Gattorna eventuated to be the final piece to the puzzle.

Todd Withers finished his first season in the NBL1 with 25 points, five rebounds and four assists for Warwick on 11/18 shooting with Perth Wildcats guard Michael Harris adding 20 points, seven assists and five boards.

George Pearl had a breakout season and finished it off with 20 points and seven rebounds on 5/8 three-point shooting with Kieran Berry contributing five points, four rebounds and four assists.

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 103 (Ballantyne 30, Bell 23, Parsons 20)

WARWICK SENATORS 88 (Withers 25, Harris 20, Pearl 20)

 

Elimination Final – East Perth Eagles (81) lost to Rockingham Flames (104)

The Rockingham Flames might be the seventh seeds but they loom large over the NBL1 West season still after a dominant 104-81 road elimination final win against the East Perth Eagles.

Coming off winning the NBL1 West and National Championships in 2022 and then again finishing last year's regular season in top spot and making the decider at the National Finals, it had been a mixed bag in 2024 for the Flames.

That was largely on the back of two-time MVP Devondrick Walker missing nine games and Jeremy Combs only arriving for the last eight games of the campaign while Jono Janssen also only played nine matches.

They might have finished in seventh spot as a result but they were a dangerous No. 7 seed and nobody knew that better than the Eagles who have not beaten Rockingham since their championship season of 2014.

East Perth also hadn’t made the finals since winning that championship but ended that drought with a sixth place finish in 2024, but it was always a big task for them without South Sudan Olympian Sunday Dech against the Flames even at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre.

After the Eagles did manage to take an early five-point lead, Rockingham took charge with a 10-0 scoring run and that ended up turning into a 15-point lead and they never looked back.

Rockingham's lead was out to as much as 18 points in the second quarter with them heading into the half-time break on top 51-41.

The Flames then outscored the Eagles 25 points to 21 in the third quarter and 28 to 19 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 23-point victory to make it 17 straight wins against East Perth dating back to their last playoff battle in 2014.

It's a significant message sent from the Flames too that they are still a force this finals series as they advance to a semi-final match up with the Willetton Tigers and their championship winning guard Marshall Nelson on Thursday night.

Injury might have significantly disrupted his season, but two-time MVP Devondrick Walker is coming good at the right time for Rockingham and he delivered 38 points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds on 6/11 three-point shooting.

Jeremy Combs provided 16 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals while Ryan Godfrey contributed 12 points, five assists and three boards, Travis Durnin 15 points and five rebounds, and Gorjok Gak 12 points and 13 boards.

It might not have been the finals return that East Perth was hoping for, but just to get back there for the first time in 10 years was a significant achievement with plenty to build upon moving forward.

Captain and point guard Taylor Young finished with 19 points, four rebounds and four assists with 3/6 three-point shooting while Perth Wildcats young big man David Okwera added 13 points, 12 boards, four assists and two steals.

Lee Roberts also had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, Lukas Milner 10 points and three boards, and Sebit Reath 10 points and four rebounds.

EAST PERTH EAGLES 81 (Young 19, Okwera 13, Roberts 11)

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 104 (Walker 38, Combs 16, Durnin 15)