Manly Warringah will get its second chance at finals glory against the Sydney Comets on Sunday.
The Sea Eagles lost a heartbreaking 104-99 overtime clash to Maitland in the Qualifying Final, with the Mustangs’ Billy Parsons stealing the show with a last-second block and dunk.
However, Manly Warringah will look to take advantage of its second chance this weekend at home in the Semi Finals - giving its fans the chance to cheer the team home in a high-stakes affair.
BILLY PARSON OT MADDNESS! ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) July 20, 2024
A block and a second-chance dunk to win the @NBL1East Qualifying Final! ? pic.twitter.com/6bV8LmmoH2
Last season the Sea Eagles finished 14th on the ladder with a 4-18 record. In a miraculous turnaround, Manly Warringah will now get to reward fans of the men’s team and bring the finals buzz up north with a home game for the NBL1 East Semi-Finals.
Despite the loss, Manly’s captain Mason Bragg said the team took a lot of positives out of the game.
“Halfway through overtime, this is one of the craziest games I’ve been involved with,” he told Caleb Fogarty.
“Especially after the last time we came here and lost by 20 points or so, to be able to come up here and show we can match it with these guys.
“Maitland is one of the top teams in the competition, it was really good for our confidence to show that we can come up here and on an away court as well.”
With a week to reflect and review, they will now have a highly entertaining opponent – featuring All-Star Five contender Biwali Bayles.
Bragg explained his Sea Eagles feel confident they can knock out the Comets, after being able to restrict the reigning NBL1 East MVP, Will Cranstown-Lown, to 23 per cent from the field.
“I said to the boys in the change rooms, ‘if we come out and play like that next week, we should be able to handle our business’.
“The last time we played the Comets, they didn’t have Biwali. So it’s going to be a completely different game, so we’ll have to find a way to slow him down for sure.”
The Sea Eagles will host the Comets on Sunday in the NBL1 East Semi Final from 3:00pm AEST, streaming live via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.
