Featured image: Eric Paul Goldie
Sebit Reath helped fire the East Perth Eagles to a home NBL1 West elimination final with the Saturday afternoon win over the Goldfields Giants after Bri Bailey lit it up in the women's clash and the Geraldton Buccaneers had another emphatic win.
RECAP NBL1 WEST | ROUND 17 FRIDAY
ROGERS EXCITED BY WORKING AT SENATORS, BOOMERS OLYMPIC PROSPECTS
VIGOR REACHES GOAL OF 300 WHILE HAVING EXPERIENCED SO MUCH
FIELD READY FOR LAST HURRAH WITH COUGARS
WOMEN
East Perth Eagles (94) defeated Goldfields Giants (67)
The East Perth Eagles finished their season on a winning note at home with Bri Bailey catching fire from beyond the three-point line in the eventual 94-67 win against the Goldfields Giants.
Both teams were just looking for a positive way to finish the season when they locked horns on Saturday at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre with East Perth attempting to stay undefeated against Goldfields since their return to the competition back in 2022.
The Eagles had won all four previous meetings with the Giants and that looked on track to continue with the hot start as East Perth piled on 37 points to 16 in the opening quarter.
That set the tone for the rest of the contest even with the Eagles losing Mary Baskerville in the first half.
East Perth still managed another 26 points to nine in the second quarter to end up leading by as much as 38 points and going on to lead 63-25 at the half-time break with Bri Bailey hitting all five of her three-point attempts.
The result was beyond doubt heading into the second half with East Perth eventually ending up scoring the 27-point victory to finish the season with a 6-14 record on the back of a second win at Peter Campbell Basketball Arena in 2024.
Bri Bailey hit her first five three-point attempts in the first half and finished the game with 20 points on 6/8 shooting from beyond the three-point line.
Laci Hawthorne finished her first season with East Perth with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists with Sam Lubcke stepping up for 16 points, seven boards, five assists and two steals.
Captain Tessa Morrison ended up with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists with Mary Goulding contributing 11 points, eight boards, six assists and two steals, and Mary Baskerville seven points and five rebounds in just eight minutes before her game ended early.
The Giants finish their third season back in the league with a 3-17 record and on an eight-game losing streak with Lauren Fech top-scoring with 19 points and three rebounds on 4/9 three-point shooting.
Lawrin Tipene added 10 points and 14 rebounds with Ash Sidebottom contributing 10 points, six boards, four assists and four steals, Alex Clinch Hoycard eight points and five rebounds, and Kate Sidebottom seven points.
EAST PERTH EAGLES 94 (Bailey 20, Lubcke 16, Hawthorne 16)
GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 67 (Fech 19, Tipene 10, A Sidebottom 10)
MEN
Perth Redbacks (76) lost to Geraldton Buccaneers (107)
The Geraldton Buccaneers ensured they will finish the regular season as defending champions four games clear in top spot with a thumping 107-76 road win to close proceedings against the Perth Redbacks.
Ultimately it was the wooden spooners playing host to the regular season champions at Belmont Oasis on Saturday afternoon to close the regular season, and while having top spot sewn up, the Buccaneers arrived to ensure they entered the finals with plenty of momentum.
After the Redbacks did manage an early five-point lead at home to try and cause the upset to avoid the wooden spoon, the Buccs took control by scoring 16 consecutive points to open up a 12-point advantage late in the opening quarter.
Geraldton went on with the job from there with the lead growing to 22 points in the second quarter, 30 in the third and 35 in the fourth on the back of another 12-0 scoring run.
The Buccaneers ended up winning by 31 points to ensure a perfect 11-0 record on the road this season and to finish with an overall 20-2 record to be four games clear in top spot as they now attempt to win back-to-back championship for the first time.
Last year's Grand Final MVP Johny Narkle is gearing up for another finals campaign with 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals with 2019 Grand Final MVP Liam Hunt delivering 15 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Captain Aaron Ralph had another 16 points and three rebounds while landing 4/7 from three-point range to take his career tally to 1074 to be just 23 behind the all-time league leader Ryan Neill.
Joshua Keyes added 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks for Geraldton with Nik DeSantis contributing 11 points and four assists, Ryan Blanchett 10 points, and young gun Bob Griechen eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.
The defeat brings to end the challenging season for the Redbacks as they finish in last place with a 5-17 record with Ioannis Dimakopoulos finishing this season as he did 2023 – with a loss to Geraldton albeit last year was with the Joondalup Wolves in the Grand Final.
Dimakopoulos finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists with 4/6 three-point shooting.
Michael Riley added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists with Maris Colton contributing 10 points, five boards and two assists, Joe Cook-Green 10 points and three assists, and Jordan Deegan eight points and two rebounds.
PERTH REDBACKS 76 (Dimakopoulos 16, Riley 12, Colton 10, Cook-Green 10)
GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 107 (Narkle 21, Ralph 16, Hunt 15)
East Perth Eagles (102) defeated Goldfields Giants (71)
The East Perth Eagles got back to top form at the best possible time and earned themselves a home elimination final in the process with the 102-71 home win against the Goldfields Giants.
It might have been the last game of the regular season but it was a significant one not only for the Eagles and Giants who were playing at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre, but also for the Mandurah Magic, Rockingham Flames and Warwick Senators.
The Magic were waiting to see if they finished in the top four or not, the Flames to see if they had a home final or not and the Senators to find out if they would have to travel to Kalgoorlie or Mandurah next week.
The Eagles were at home but had lost three of their last four matches while the Giants arrived having won the last three and just needing a win to guarantee fourth position and a finals double chance.
It was a flying start from East Perth going back to the huge starting five with Taylor Young joined by Sharif Watson, David Okwera, Lukas Milner and Lee Roberts, and they scored the game's first seven points.
However, the Giants led by Randy Bell fired back and had drawn level again at 19-19 by quarter-time before the second term followed a similar trend.
The Eagles got out to a 10-point lead again in the second period but the Giants hit back and scores were all square at 48-48 by half-time.
Everything was still up for grabs by half-time but it was domination from the Eagles in the second half starting with 21 points to 13 in the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter unfolded, suddenly a home final was on the line for the Eagles and they needed to win by 26 points to leapfrog Rockingham into sixth spot on percentage.
In the end, the Eagles forced the Giants into a couple of late turnovers and an offensive rebound and putback from David Okwera got them the margin they needed. They then made sure of it thanks to Taylor Young and a triple from Okwera for the 31-point victory.
The result means that the Eagles finish the season with a 13-9 record in sixth position to now be hosting the Rockingham Flames in an elimination final.
Sebit Reath hit back emphatically with a standout showing for East Perth finishing with 33 points and 10 rebounds with 5/10 shooting from three-point range.
Taylor Young also made 5/13 from downtown on his way to 22 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and three steals with David Okwera contributing 15 points, nine boards and four assists.
Lukas Milner also produced 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists with Lee Roberts adding eight points, five boards, four assists and three blocked shots, and Sharif Watson seven points, nine rebounds and five assists.
The Giants missed the chance to earn a finals double chance and finish in fifth position at 13-9 as well to now be hosting the Warwick Senators in an elimination final in what will officially be the last game on the current court at Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium.
Randy Bell finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Goldfields with De'Sean Parsons adding 19 points, four boards, four steals and two assists, and the returning Mayo Malek eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals having been sidelined the previous five matches.
EAST PERTH EAGLES 102 (Reath 33, Young 22, Okwera 15)
GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 71 (Bell 25, Parsons 19, Malek 8)
