NBL1 West Recap | Saturday Men's Finals Week 1

The Perth Redbacks put it all together in spectacular style on Saturday night to keep their NBL1 West season alive at the expense of the Warwick Senators while the Perry Lakes Hawks were too strong for the Rockingham Flames.

The first week of the inaugural NBL1 West finals series wrapped up with two tantalising match ups on Saturday night and the Redbacks put on a show to eliminate the Senators away from home while the regular season champion Hawks moved straight into a preliminary final against the Flames.

The finals of the NBL1 West Men's Division got underway on Friday night with the Lakeside Lightning just overcoming the Willetton Tigers in a dramatic nail-biter 95-92 in the qualifying final.

Then in the elimination final, it was the Mandurah Magic making history advancing out of the first round for the first time in club history on the men's side by beating the Cockburn Cougars 63-62.

That all led into the action on Saturday night which saw the Perth Redbacks back at full strength and showing what they can produce as a unit by defeating the Warwick Senators 111-88 at Warwick Stadium.

Louis Timms was massive for the Redbacks with 32 points while Zac Gattorna had 25, Tevin Jackson 20 and Marshall Nelson 19. Justin King produced 28 points for Warwick, Caleb Davis 25, Cody Ellis 16 and Ethan Elliott 13.

The Perry Lakes Hawks finished the regular season on top of the ladder and are now one win from the Grand Final after a 90-75 win against the Rockingham Flames at Bendat Basketball Centre.

Runner-up MVP Andrew Ferguson was terrific for the Hawks with 22 points and eight rebounds with Mitch Clarke adding 19 points and Ryan Smith 13. Tom Jervis and Ryan Godfrey had 17 points apiece for the Flames.

That sets up the semi-final match ups now this coming Friday night with the Rockingham Flames at home to the Mandurah Magic while the Willetton Tigers host the Perth Redbacks.

The Lakeside Lightning and Perry Lakes Hawks await those winners in Saturday night's preliminary finals where the Grand Final participants will be decided.

NBL1 WEST – 2021 MEN'S SEASON
FINALS WEEK 1 – SATURDAY NIGHT

ELIMINATION FINAL – WARWICK SENATORS 88 lost to PERTH REDBACKS 111

The elimination final on Saturday night looked about as evenly matched as you will get between the Warwick Senators and Perth Redbacks coming into the game at Warwick Stadium, but it was the visitors fired up to make a statement.

The Senators and Redbacks both deservedly had high expectations of what they could achieve in the inaugural NBL1 West season given the rosters they had assembled, but it had turned out a bit of a rollercoaster ride for both club in 2021.

The Senators were coming off winning the West Coast Classic championship but come Saturday night they were without Corban Wroe, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Ngor Manyang from that team while Ash Litterick was still working back from a shoulder injury.

Warwick had still done enough to finish the regular season in sixth spot with a 13-9 record, the same as the Redbacks but on percentage it was the Senators who earned the home court advantage for Saturday's cut-throat battle.

It has been an up and down affair throughout the season for the Redbacks too. When at their best with Louis Timms up front, Joel Wagner running the point and Marshall Nelson, Zac Gattorna and Tevin Jackson in between they looked capable of being championship fancies.

However, when missing any of those five or when not playing to their game plan, they could struggle as well and they did only win one of their last four matches heading into the finals leaving them knowing they had to win on the road throughout the finals to stay alive.

The Redbacks might not have come into the finals with great momentum, but they did regain Joel Wagner and Zac Gattorna who missed the last two weeks, and for whatever reason they came out with great energy and confidence.

The Senators did appear a little flat from the outset and with Louis Timms proving too much to handle for Warwick with Ash Litterick limited to just 11 minutes, the Redbacks had the answer of the best big man on the floor.

They worked off that nicely and playing with greater confidence, the Redbacks started well away from home and managed to lead 29 to 18 by the end of the first quarter.

The Senators got rolling offensively in the second term but they couldn’t halt the Redbacks up the other end meaning Perth went into the half-time break still leading 59-46.

Warwick would continue to threaten a comeback throughout the entire second half, but each time they hit a big shot and did begin to get things rolling their way, the Redbacks would answer.

The Senators kept on coming, though, with their seasons on the line but was Zac Gattorna that made the biggest plays of the night to ice the win for the Redbacks.

With Warwick back within single figures and with the home crowd behind them, Gattorna nailed two huge three-pointers for the Redbacks on back to back plays. 

Then to seal the deal on the very next possession, with the defence closing out on him, he dished off a beautiful pass inside to Timms who threw down a monster dunk and the Redbacks were on the way to the 111-88 win.

Redbacks coach CJ Jackson calling a timeout with a 19-point lead and just over a minute left on the clock didn’t quite go down well with Mike Ellis or the Senators, but nonetheless Perth advances to the semi finals and the season of Warwick came to an end.

The Redbacks just came out an inspired outfit from the outset and they kept shooting at a high clip the entire night, finishing up hitting 40/67 at 59.7 per cent from the field and 13/27 at 48.2 per cent from deep. Warwick went 44.6 per cent from the field and 20.8 from the three-point line.

When the four guns from the Redbacks are firing they are mighty tough to stop, and they all had tremendous games on Saturday night.

Louis Timms was the dominant figure on the floor with 32 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks on shooting a phenomenal 13/17 overall and 3/4 from deep.

Zac Gattorna was outstanding too with 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals while Tevin Jackson added 20 points, six boards and three assists, and Marshall Nelson 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Add in captain Joel Wagner's six points, five assists and three rebounds, and it was the best display all season against quality opposition from the Redbacks.

The Senators will be disappointed with the exit but Justin King delivered 28 points and six rebounds, Caleb Davis 25 points and seven boards, Cody Ellis 16 points and nine assists, and Ethan Elliott 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

QUALIFYING FINAL – PERRY LAKES HAWKS 90 defeated ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 75

The Perry Lakes Hawks and Rockingham Flames have developed quite the rivalry in recent years and with a preliminary final spot at stake on Saturday night, that continued.

The Hawks and Flames have met in some heated and tantalising match ups in recent years including a tense and dramatic quarter-final series in 2019, and a hell of a three-game semi-final battle in 2018 before Perry Lakes went on to win the championship.

Things always go up a level when the two teams meet and Saturday night at Bendat Basketball Centre was never going to be any different with the Hawks hosting the Flames after both ended the NBL1 West season in the top four.

As a result, little separated the two teams in the opening half with Perry Lakes managing to lead 24-18 by quarter-time but Rockingham turned it around impressively with 27 points to 21 in the second to leave scores all square by the major break.

However, the Hawks had been the most consistent and deepest team right throughout the regular season in the NBL1 West competition and that came to the fore throughout the second half.

The Hawks put together a dominant third quarter holding the Flames to just the 11 points while scoring 22 themselves.

That set up the eventual 90-75 win for Perry Lakes as they now move straight into a preliminary final back at Bendat Basketball Centre next Saturday night against either the Willetton Tigers or Perth Redbacks.

The Flames have another chance still getting to host the Mandurah Magic in Friday's semi-final with the winner to take on the Lakeside Lightning on Saturday with a spot in the Grand Final on the line.

Despite the loss, Rockingham was remarkably dominant on the boards with 53 rebounds to 34 including 19 to seven at the offensive end. 

However, 23 turnovers to 11 somewhat cancelled that out while Perry Lakes also shot 45.2 per cent form the field and 38.9 from deep opposed to 36.1 and 32.1 from Rockingham.

MVP runner-up Andrew Ferguson was terrific again for Perry Lakes with 22 points and eight rebounds with point guard Mitch Clarke delivering 19 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Ryan Smith also had 13 points and two assists, Ben Purser 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals, Rob Cassir nine points, five steals, four assists and three boards, Cooper Hamilton seven points and Lewis Thomas seven points and 10 rebounds..

Tom Jervis fought hard inside in his match up with Ferguson for Rockingham to end the night with 17 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots while Ryan Godfrey contributed 17 points, five rebounds and three assists on hitting 4/7 from three-point range.

Atem Bior added 14 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Flames, Cirkook Makuac Riak nine points and five rebounds, Brendan Redhead six points and Justin Beard six points, four rebounds and three assists.