After 1504 games across five conferences, with 141 teams competing, only two teams stand at the end as the Coles Express NBL1 National Finals Champions, the NBL1 West’s Women’s Warwick Senators and the Men’s Rockingham Flames.
West is best! ??
— Megan Hustwaite (@MeganHustwaite) September 11, 2022
Warwick Senators women and Rockingham Flames men take out the inaugural @NBL1 National Championship titles! #NBL1 @NBL1_West pic.twitter.com/KaRWJ8C7mF
To read how the Senators and the Flames got to the NBL1 National Finals read below:
Read the Warwick Senators Journey to NBL1 National Finals here.
Read the Rockingham Flames Journey to NBL1 National Finals here.
The two Western Australian teams flew in Friday morning, played a triple-header across the weekend and flew out Sunday night with the silverware after finishing their NBL1 West Grand Finals the week prior.
The Senators fought through the loud and proud Ringwood Hawks home crowd in the Championship Game to escape with an eight-point win. The NBL1 West Finals MVP Leonie Fiebich backed her performance up again with 16 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists to claim the Championship Game MVP.
“I give my MVP trophy to all my girls over there,” Fiebich said while accepting the award.
“A lot of us weren’t able to walk this morning so I am really happy we pulled up and actually played really well, I’m really proud of this group.”
Leonie Fiebich is your @Coles Express NBL1 National Finals Championship Game MVP ?
16 points, 18 rebounds and 7 assists to get Warwick the win ? pic.twitter.com/IHqtiIUwZH
The Rockingham Flames lost their NBL1 West conference and Finals MVP Devondrick Walker in the week of the NBL1 National Finals after signing with the Brisbane Bullets, as well as missing Commonwealth Games silver medallist Greg Hire.
The Flames still extremely talented, led by NBL1 West First-Team member Marshall Nelson throughout the three games. The captain Ryan Godfrey won the Championship Game MVP after catching fire early and finishing with 23 points, 5 rebounds and three assists against Frankston and their drum-banging home crowd.
Ryan Godfrey is your @Coles Express NBL1 National Finals Championship Game MVP ?
23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists to get Rockingham the win ? pic.twitter.com/i8S73W6PyX
Rockingham were the runners-up last season in the NBL1 West, and their win this season was the first in 28 years for the club.
“We recruit good guys, if they come with a bit of skill, fantastic, but they have to be good blokes to play on our team,” Godfrey said.
“We have 20 contracted guys on the team, a couple of them are at home. They all contributed in some way and I love them all.”
Head coach Ryan Petrik, representing his state as a coach in both the NBL1 and the WNBL said, “To have both WA teams come and win it … it means a lot to our state.”
The inaugural Coles Express NBL1 National Finals proved one thing above all. The West Is Best.
Feature image via: Ian Knight
