NBL1 North women's teams the Townsville Flames and Southern Districts Spartans finished their National Finals campaigns with big wins on Sunday while there were men's wins to close off the weekend for the Gold Coast Rollers and Canberra Gunners.
Six teams from around the country descended on Melbourne's State Basketball Centre for the National Finals this weekend featuring the championship winners from the NBL1 South, East, North, West and Central competitions.
The competing teams were rounded out by the Southern Districts Spartans women and Frankston Blues men who won the Wildcard spots.
By the end of the opening two nights, it was the Warwick Senators and Ringwood Hawks in the women, and Rockingham Flames and Frankston Blues who booked in their spots in the championship matches on Sunday.
However, the other eight teams in Melbourne also played on Sunday to close out their weekends at the National Finals.
The Sunday morning action got underway with the couple of women's matches beginning with the NBL1 North champion Townsville Flames defeating the NBL1 Central's West Adelaide Bearcats 97-70.
Courtney Woods delivered 25 points for Townsville and Steph Reid 22 to go with 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals. Madelynn Utti was terrific for West Adelaide with 29 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and three assists.
The Southern Districts Spartans scored their first win of the National Finals this weekend then beating the Albury-Wodonga Bandits 109-69.
The Spartans booked in their spot as the Wildcard winners and finished the NBL1 North season in second spot. They finished their weekend in Melbourne with the big win with Madelyn Allen and Leah Scott both scoring 21 points, and Nadeen Payne 20.
The Bandits couldn’t quite back up their win the previous night against Townsville despite another huge performance from Unique Thompson with 36 points and 14 rebounds.
The men's match ups then followed with the NBL1 North champion Gold Coast Rollers defeating the NBL1 Central's South Adelaide Panthers.
Gold Coast might be without their Brisbane Bullets NBL trio Jason Cadee, Tanner Krebs and DJ Mitchell, but still put on a show on Sunday with Jaze Morris finishing with 23 points and Elijah Kamu.
It was a third loss of the weekend for Scott Ninnis and his South Adelaide team with imports Jeremy Smith and Alex Starling not playing on Sunday. Jarryd Hoppo delivered 13 points and five rebounds.
The Canberra Gunners then capped off their impressive weekend in Melbourne by scoring a second win with the NBL1 East champions beating the NBL1 South's Hobart Chargers 93-72.
Canberra deserve to feel a little unlucky not to be in the championship game having won two of their three matches, and leading big in that loss against Frankston on Friday.
Will Mayfield delivered 20 points in the win for the Gunners with Glenn Morison adding another 15 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.
Jacob Richards top-scored for Hobart with 24 points.
NBL1 – 2022 NATIONAL FINALS
DAY 3 – SUNDAY
WOMEN'S CONSOLATION GAMES
TOWNSVILLE FLAMES 97 defeated WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 70
The Townsville Flames finished off their 2022 season with a thumping 27-point win over the West Adelaide Bearcats on Sunday in Melbourne.
Townsville would have been disappointed to not qualify for the championship game at the National Finals on the back of winning the NBL1 North in spectacular fashion by handing the Logan Thunder their only two losses of 2022 in the Grand Final Series.
The Flames arrived in Melbourne without superstar Alanna Smith, but still had the rest of the championship winning squad and then defeated the Southern Districts Spartans on Friday in an all NBL1 North match up.
However, Townsville had a slip up on Saturday against the Albury-Wodonga Bandits which cost them a chance at the national championship to go with their NBL1 North title.
Meanwhile, West Adelaide had found the going tough so far in Melbourne losing to the Warwick Senators by 25 points on Friday night and then by 35 to the Ringwood Hawks on Saturday.
Those two teams ended up playing off for the championship on Sunday so there was no shame in those results for the NBL1 Central champions before they had another chance against Townsville on Sunday.
Both teams had their chance holding a five-point lead during the first quarter but by quarter-time it was West Adelaide holding a narrow 22-21 lead as they chase that first win at the National Finals.
The Flames worked their way on top during the second quarter, though, going on a 9-0 run to lead by as much as 13 to go into half-time break leading 47-39.
Townsville then really unleashed its offensive firepower during the third quarter by piling on 36 points to 14 including going on a run of scoring 13 straight points to open up a 30-point advantage.
That lead grew to 33 points in the last quarter before Townsville went on to win 97-70 to make it two wins from three games at the National Finals with West Adelaide going winless.
Courtney Woods ended up top-scoring for the Flames with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists and steals while knocking down 5/10 from three-point territory.
Steph Reid led the Flames to the NBL1 North championship and continued her hot form with another 22 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals with Aliza Fabbro adding 13 points and three steals, Grace Rodgers 11 points and five rebounds, and Jaimee Seebohm 11 points, five boards, five assists and three steals.
Madelynn Utti was the standout performer for West Adelaide with 29 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocked shots.
Keeley Pearce added nine points and two steals, Jasmin Fejo eight points, and Mia Valik five points and six assists.
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 109 defeated ALBURY-WODONGA BANDITS 69
The Albury-Wodonga Bandits might have been on a high having beaten the Townsville Flames on Saturday, but the Southern Districts Spartans proved too good on Sunday to close the National Finals for both teams.
The Spartans had a tough first couple of games in Melbourne this weekend losing to the Warwick Senators and Townsville Flames to open the tournament on the back of finishing the NBL1 North season in second spot and losing to Townsville in the semi finals.
Southern Districts came into Sunday's game looking for a first win of the weekend and it loomed as being a significant challenge given Albury-Wodonga were fresh off a win against the Flames the night before.
That was a significant result for the Bandits who are in Melbourne without Lauren Jackson after winning the NBL1 East champion, and beating the NBL1 North champions was a terrific performance.
However, the Spartans came out on Sunday on a mission and they scored 12 straight points during the opening quarter to lead by as much as 17 points, and to be up 32-19 by the end of one.
Southern Districts extended that advantage further in the second quarter with another 31 points to 20 to be in command at half-time leading 63-39.
A 63-point first half was quite the performance from the Spartans to set up their first win at the National Finals. They continued to extend their lead too to 39 points in the third quarter and 45 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 109-69 victory.
Leah Scott continued her strong form for the Spartans with another 21 points, four rebounds and three assists with Madelyn Allen adding 21 points and nine assists, and Nadeen Payne 20 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Kalani Purcell finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and four steals for Southern Districts, Rebecca Haynes nine points, five assists and three rebounds, and Lulu Twidale eight points and three boards.
It was a tough way to finish the weekend for Albury-Wodonga but Unique Thompson was once again outstanding by putting up 36 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.
Brodie-Paige Theodore added nine points, five rebounds and three assists, Ai Yamada eight points, six assists, three steals and two rebounds, and Casey Ardern eight points.
MEN'S CONSOLATION GAMES
GOLD COAST ROLLERS 102 defeated SOUTH ADELAIDE PANTHERS 72
Gold Coast and South Adelaide were two conference championship looking to end the National Finals on a high on Sunday, and it was the Rollers proving too strong for the Panthers.
If for no other reason than pitting former Adelaide 36ers greats Anthony Petrie and Scott Ninnis up against one another as coaches for the first time in charge of their respective teams, this was a fascinating Sunday match up.
Gold Coast had won the NBL1 North championship two weeks ago but arrived in Melbourne minus Brisbane Bullets NBL trio Jason Cadee, DJ Mitchell and Tanner Krebs.
As a result, the Rollers couldn’t quite replicate the form they showed all season despite beating the Hobart Chargers first up before falling to the Canberra Gunners on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, South Adelaide broke through for a first NBL1 Central championship in 24 years in the first season in charge of three-time NBL championship winner Ninnis.
However, the Panthers fell to the Rockingham Flames on Friday night by 16 points before falling in the game of the tournament so far on Saturday night to the Frankston Blues.
That set up the clash on Sunday but South Adelaide came into it without import pair Jeremy Smith and Alex Starling. Considering they combined for 51 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals the night before against Frankston, they were significant outs.
Despite that, the Panthers made a strong start and led 21-16 by quarter-time before Gold Coast worked their way on top during the second term with 27 points to 13 to take a 43-34 advantage into the half-time break.
The Rollers then really turned it on during the third quarter by piling on 36 points to 23 to lead by 27 points at one stage and to be on top 79-57 by three quarter-time.
It was another 23 points to 15 in the fourth quarter from Gold Coast as they scored the 102-72 win to make it two from three for the National Finals while South Adelaide wasn’t able to find a victory.
Jaze Morris took the most of his increased minutes for Gold Coast with 23 points and five rebounds while connecting on 4/7 from three-point territory.
Elijah Kamu added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Rollers, Tidjane Diop 14 points, three boards, two assists and two steals, Mat McKewin nine points and six assists, Lamar Patterson nine points, six assists and five rebounds, and Billy Rigby nine points, six boards and six assists.
Jarryd Hoppo enjoyed his added opportunities for South Adelaide to end up with 13 points and 15 rebounds with Kazlo Evans contributing 12 points, seven assists and six boards, Cameron Hutton 11 points, three rebounds and three steals, Andrew Barton 11 points, four boards and three assists, and Todd Davies nine points and two assists.
CANBERRA GUNNERS 93 defeated HOBART CHARGERS 72
The Canberra Gunners have put together an outstanding National Finals campaign in Melbourne and capped it off with a 21-point win against the Hobart Chargers on Sunday.
The Gunners won the NBL1 East championship two weeks ago with a Grand Final victory against the Maitland Mustangs and they brought a full team with them to Melbourne ready to compete hard in the National Finals.
Canberra started off on Friday night on fire building up an 18-point lead on the Frankston Blues. The Gunners couldn’t quite hold on and lost in a thriller by three points before again building a big lead on Saturday against the Gold Coast Rollers, and this time converting that into a 10-point win.
Meanwhile, Hobart had a standout season in the NBL1 South to finish on top of the standings and then to end up winning the championship with last Saturday night's Grand Final win against the Mount Gambier Pioneers.
However, NBL trio Harry Froling, Sam McDaniel and Jarred Bairstow were significant parts of that success for Hobart and with them unavailable to play at the National Finals, the Chargers found the going tough.
They lost first up on Friday to the Gold Coast Rollers before also falling to the Rockingham Flames on Saturday meaning they were still searching for that first win on Sunday to close the tournament.
Canberra again started strong for the third straight game in as many days to lead by as much as eight points in the first quarter and then still leading 25-20 by quarter-time.
Canberra then built a nine-point lead again in the second term before Hobart made their run and put together their own 12-0 run to grab a four-point advantage heading towards half-time.
However, once again the Gunners turned the tide and held a 45-37 lead by half-time.
Canberra then pulled further away with a 10-0 run in the third term to end up leading by 22 points. There would be no comeback from the Chargers this time and the Gunners saw their lead grow to 30 in the fourth quarter before they ended up winning 93-72.
The result meant that Canberra won two of their three games this weekend and it easily could have been three had they held on against Frankston on Friday. It was a tough tournament for the Chargers who went through winless.
Will Mayfield ended up top-scoring for the Gunners with 20 points, four assists, three rebounds and two assists with Glenn Morison delivering another 15 points, 10 boards, three steals and three blocked shots.
Dhal Fieg also had 11 points, three assist and two steals for Canberra, Akech Aliir 10 points and six rebounds, Pietro Badalassi eight points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds, and John Mapiou eight points.
Jacob Richards ended up top-scoring for Hobart with 24 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists on 8/13 shooting with Ole Angerstein contributing 12 points and 10 rebounds, Luke Brown eight points and two blocks, and Jamar Sandifer eight points and four steals.
