The Coles Express NBL1 National Finals are finally here!
The five NBL1 women’s and men's champions from each conference and the NBL1 Wildcard Series winner will battle it out over Friday and Saturday to collate points to enter the Championship Game on Sunday. For more information on the structure of the weekend click here.
All of the games across Friday, Saturday and the Championship Games will be streaming live on Kayo Freebies.
On Friday, these will be the match-ups for the first day of hoops. Check out how the men's teams stack up against each other below:
Rockingham Flames (NBL1 West) v South Adelaide Panthers (NBL1 Central)
The Rockingham Flames and South Adelaide Panthers are both coming off fantastic Grand Final wins.
Now they will face off against each other as the NBL1 Central Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP Alex Starling, alongside conference MVP Jeremy Smith, will take on NBL1 West First-Team member Marshall Nelson in a mouth-watering match-up to start the men’s action at 8:00pm!
Marshall Nelson is a dangerous man ?
— NBL1 (@NBL1) September 3, 2022
Watch the #NBL1West Grand Final live on @kayosports ? pic.twitter.com/NUYaC3g63o
Hobart Chargers (NBL1 South) v Gold Coast Rollers (NBL1 North)
The NBL1 stars will shine in this match-up as the Hobart Chargers will take on the Gold Coast Rollers at 8:15pm on Friday night.
The Chargers and Rollers will be without their NBL talent but former NBL First-Teamer Lamar Patterson will have a tough match-up against the likes of Hobart’s Ole Angerstein and AJ Harris.
Harris struggled in the Grand Final but has been a star all season, averaging 14 points and 5 assists per game, while the German big man has been a highlight machine with dunks and blocks to rattle the defence.
Frankston Blues (NBL1 Wildcard) v Canberra Gunners (NBL1 East)
The Wildcard Series winners the Frankston Blues will face off against the NBL1 East champions the Canberra Gunners in the final game of the night at 8:30pm.
Frankston will bring a loud crowd with them while the Gunners will have their own buses filled with fans to make this game the perfect contest to finish the first day on!
The Gunners are an entirely local group who all played together as juniors and will now play together as NBL1 East Champs, led by Finals MVP Glen Morison. While the Blues will have their full squad of experience with Lachlan Barker, Daniel Trist, Dillon Stith and their import star Adrio Bailey.
Get your tickets to the Coles Express NBL1 National Final here.
