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The fairytale is within reach of the Mandurah Magic to go from last into an NBL1 West Grand Final within 12 months with MVP Joel Murray again inspiring them to the 110-93 semi-final win over the Goldfields Giants.
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Mandurah Magic (110) defeated Goldfields Giants (93)
The Mandurah Magic have become the story of the NBL1 West season in 2024 and now they are just one win away from a Grand Final appearance after Friday night's home 110-93 semi-final win against the Goldfields Giants.
Going into the last day of the regular season and both teams were in the mix for a top four finish and it was Mandurah who ended up finishing fourth.
That meant the Magic had to go to Geraldton to open the finals series and they did lose to the top ranked reigning champions by six points, but it was an impressive showing minus Julian Pesava and Lachlan Bertram.
By finishing fourth Mandurah had earned the double chance so they were back home at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre on Friday night hosting the Giants with the winner to move into Sunday's preliminary final against the Joondalup Wolves.
Goldfields finished the regular season fifth on the same 13-9 record as the Magic before scoring a commanding 15-point win in Kalgoorlie over the Warwick Senators last Saturday.
Both teams came into the semi-final match up with no shortage of firepower so all signs pointed to it being a high-scoring affair, and the Magic made sure of that from the outset.
Sharpshooter Jarrod Molnar was the one who shot out of the blocks for Mandurah scoring 13 points in the first seven minutes of the contest including three three-pointers.
The league's Youth Player of the Year, Lachlan Bertram, was back too and made an impact immediately with a couple of triples as the Magic put up 36 points in the opening quarter to already be leading by 12 at quarter-time.
The Giants were doing their best to keep pace with the Magic and the visitors did manage 26 points to 20 in the second term to cut the Mandurah lead to six at half-time, but the home team just had too much firepower as the night unfolded.
Playing at home with a sold out Mandurah crowd behind them, the Magic were able to ride that momentum with another 30 points to 23 in the third period including going on a 10-0 run.
That saw Mandurah open up a 17-point lead with that growing to as much as 23 in the fourth frame as well and the Magic went on to score the 17-point win.
The victory now sees the Magic move into a preliminary final on Sunday at midday against the Joondalup Wolves at HBF Arena which is a remarkable feat and outstanding achievement by coach Mark Utley after a two-win horror season in 2023.
MVP Joel Murray turned playmaker to help the Magic set the tone in the contest in the first quarter and then he showed what a scorer and facilitator he could be the rest of the way.
He finished with 34 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and three steals on shooting 13/22 from the field and 4/8 from three-point territory.
Defensive Player of the Year Michael Durr was strong again for Mandurah in the win with 21 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks while Jarrod Molnar set the pace early and finished with 20 points and two assists with 4/9 three-point shooting.
Lachlan Bertram was back in the line-up with 17 points and six rebounds on 5/8 shooting from downtown with Julian Pesava also back for 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
It might be the season over for the Giants but to be knocking on the door of a top four finish and then to win a final means that there was a lot to like in what they did despite some coaching upheaval throughout 2024.
All Second Team member Randy Bell finished his first season at the Giants with 29 points and seven assists with five three-pointers with All First Team member De'Sean Parsons having 26 points, 14 boards, seven assists and four steals.
Kon Anguik added 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Mayo Malek 14 points and six boards, and 214-game captain Jerome Reid eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
Last Saturday night's hero in the win over the Senators, Damon Ballantyne, had a rough night going scoreless on 0/4 shooting.
MANDURAH MAGIC 110 (Murray 34, Durr 21, Molnar 20)
GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 93 (Bell 29, Parsons 26, Anguik 16)
