West Recap | Week 1 Finals Saturday

Image credit: @ArcticMoonPhotography

Warwick Senators and Willetton Tigers had stunning road NBL1 West finals wins while Claire Jacobs for Mandurah Magic, De'Sean Parsons for Goldfields Giants, Jayda Clark for Perry Lakes Hawks, and Lee Roberts and Jonah Antonio for East Perth Eagles starred.

WEST RECAP | WEEK 1 FINALS FRIDAY

WILLINGNESS TO SACRIFICE KEY TO 20-0 COUGARS

UNFINISHED BUSINESS SOLE FOCUS FOR FLAME GODFREY

CLARKE HOPES SUCCESS KEEPS FOLLOWING HIM

WOMEN

Elimination Final – Mandurah Magic (105) defeated East Perth Eagles (60)

Claire Jacobs was a woman on a mission and delivered 35 points with seven three-pointers to keep the Mandurah Magic alive with the 105-60 home elimination final win over the East Perth Eagles.

The Magic finished the regular season in fifth position with an 11-9 record but were only one game ahead of the 10-10 Eagles in eighth place ahead of the elimination final match up at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Mandurah did lock away their home final with a 44-point win last Friday night over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns while the Eagles did come into the playoffs having lost six of their last eight matches having started the season winning six of the first seven.

It was a hot start from the Magic on their home floor with 30 points to 19 in the first quarter including going on a 13-0 run with 11/23 shooting from the field opposed to 7/20 from the Eagles.

It was another massive second frame from Mandurah with 32 points to 18 and that saw them go into the half-time break leading 62-37 on the back of shooting 20/42 from the field to 13/34.

That lead only continued to grow throughout the second half for the Magic as it got out to 33 points in the third quarter, and 45 in the fourth and that would remain the final margin.

The Magic ended up shooting 46 per cent for the game to the 32 from the Eagles while also going 27/31 at the foul line to 10/23 while also forcing East Perth into 21 turnovers from which they scored 14 points from.

The Magic now advance to a semi-final on Thursday night on the road to the Rockingham Flames with a place in the preliminary final on Saturday against the Warwick Senators at Warwick Stadium on the line.

Claire Jacobs deserved to consider herself unlucky to not hear her name called out at any point at the awards night back on Saturday night for her outstanding season for the Magic, and she was a woman on a mission to open the playoffs.

Jacobs finished with 35 points, six steals and five rebounds while knocking down 7/13 from downtown and 8/8 at the foul line.

Tina Stephens also had 27 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 10/14 shooting while Grace Berg contributed 10 points, five boards and three assists, McKenna Dale nine points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and Emma Klasztorny six points and six boards.

It's a rough end to a season that did promise so much for the Eagles and you could see what first-year coach Tim Symons was building and could continue to grow moving forward if they are able to stick to the process.

Sasha Goodlett finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals for East Perth with Awatea Leach contributing 13 points, five boards, two assists and two steals, Madi Torresin 10 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Abby Cubillo 10 points, five boards and four assists.

MANDURAH MAGIC 105 (Jacobs 35, Stephens 27, Berg 10)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 60 (Goodlett 14, Leach 13, Torresin 10, Cubillo 10)

Elimination Final – Perry Lakes Hawks (88) defeated Willetton Tigers (76)

Zitina Aokuso was back for Willetton and there was no Megan McKay for Perry Lakes, but WNBL pair Jayda Clark and Alex Fowler combined for 58 points as the Hawks proved too strong with the 88-76 win over the Tigers.

While the two teams did have contrasting form coming into their elimination final match up at Bendat Basketball Centre, the Aokuso inclusion for Willetton and McKay absence for Perry Lakes did significantly even things up.

The Hawks earned home court advantage thanks to winning four of their last five games while the Tigers had slipped down to seventh having lost five of their last six with Aokuso missing each of them despite still being named to the All-First Team.

Perry Lakes shot out of the blocks with the game's first seven points through Jayda Clark and Alex Fowler but Willetton responded with 13 of the next 15 points with the first 10 of those coming from 264-game captain Desiree Kelley.

From there, it was the Hawks narrowly leading 25-23 by quarter-time before the Tigers came back from an 11-point deficit in the second term to level scores up at 48-48 by half-time.

It was a similar story in the third frame with Perry Lakes opening up a nine-point lead by going on a 10-0 run before Willetton responded to cut that deficit back to just two points by three quarter-time.

There would be no comeback again from the Tigers in the final term with Perry Lakes outscoring them 22 points to 12 on 10/15 shooting to 5/20 to secure the 12-point victory and to keep their season alive.

Perry Lakes will now advance to a semi-final on Thursday night against the Perth Redbacks with plenty of salivating match ups to look forward to and none better than Nat Chou with Jayda Clark, and Anneli Maley with Alex Fowler.

Speaking of that pair, they were instrumental in the win for the Hawks with UC Capitals guard Clark delivering 31 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals while Townsville Fire forward Fowler had 27 points, 11 boards, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Maddy Dennis shook off a knee complaint for nine points and five rebounds while Mia Satie contributed eight points, eight boards and two assists, and Eryn Fisher six points, five rebounds and two steals.

The season will be a great what if for Willetton about what they could have done if Zitina Aokuso had played more than the 11 games in the finish given how dominant she was when out there.

She provided 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals in her first game since June 21 while Desiree Kelley produced 20 points, seven rebounds and six steals, Sharn Hayward 13 points and three assists, and Ajulu Thatha 13 points and eight rebounds.

PERRY LAKES HAWKS 88 (Clark 31, Fowler 27, Dennis 9)

WILLETTON TIGERS 76 (Kelley 20, Aokuso 14, Hayward 13, Thatha 13)

MEN

Elimination Final – Joondalup Wolves (79) lost to East Perth Eagles (81)

The East Perth Eagles remain the great enigma of this season with their best capable of great things and they put in an impressive showing to keep their season alive beating the Joondalup Wolves 81-79.

The Eagles have shown on occasion what they are capable of this season becoming the only team to beat the Buccaneers in Geraldton and also the only team aside from the Buccs to beat the Senators at Warwick Stadium.

But they had also had some stinkers losing to teams who didn’t make the playoffs like the Perth Redbacks, Cockburn Cougars and twice to the Lakeside Lightning which is why they finished eighth with a 9-13 record.

The Wolves, meanwhile, had finished fifth at 14-8 but they had never quite looked the same championship contending outfit they had been since the departure for college of point guard Ethan Elliott.

Still, the Wolfpack had home court advantage at Arena Joondalup for the elimination final but it was former grand final MVP Lee Roberts who showed he is still capable of putting his Eagles team on his back even in the veteran stage of his career.

East Perth went on to be leading 25-19 by the end of the first quarter before then building on that advantage with 24 points to 21 in the second frame to be leading 49-40 at half-time while attempting 14 extra shots for the half than Joondalup.

The Wolves were able to work on top in the third quarter but it was still the Eagles clinging to the 61-60 advantage by three quarter-time.

Ben Geel scored to put the Wolfpack in front to start the fourth quarter with the lead continuing to exchange hands until Jonah Antonio hit a huge three to put East Perth back up five with six minutes on the clock.

The Wolves were able to respond to tie things up but then it was Roberts who knocked one down from deep to regain the lead for the Eagles with 3:30 remaining.

Roberts then scored inside to stretch that lead to five only for the Wolves to answer with the next four points to make it a one-point game with 30 seconds to go.

Antonio made a strong finish going to the basket and then was able to steal it from Caleb Davis and be fouled when attacking the hoop up the other end, and make both free throws.

CJ Turnage hit a three to keep things interesting in the dying seconds for the Wolves, but time beat them and fittingly the ball was in Antonio's hands as he came up huge showing why he's been in the NBL at the Cairns Taipans the past three seasons.

East Perth now advances to a semi-final on Thursday night on the road to the Rockingham Flames after Lee Roberts turned back the clock to deliver a dominant performance with 31 points and eight rebounds on 12/16 shooting from the field.

Jonah Antonio was tremendous also with 23 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists on 4/8 three-point shooting with Chier Maker contributing 14 points, six boards, three assists and three steals.

Sharif Watson also had 10 points and rebounds with Max Rice contributing seven rebounds and five assists despite a rough shooting night of 1/9 for just three points.

The season is over the Wolves and so is the era with David Morrell as coach with CJ Turnage finishing with 29 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Joey Baker added 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists with 5/12 three-point shooting while Caleb Davis contributed 10 points, four boards and four assists, and Ben Geel nine points with 3/3 shooting.

JOONDALUP WOLVES 79 (Turnage 29, Baker 17, Davis 10)

EAST PERTH EAGLES 81 (Roberts 31, Antonio 23, Maker 14)

Elimination Final – Goldfields Giants (109) defeated Mandurah Magic (95)

The final 109-95 scoreline doesn’t tell the story of what a dramatic match up it was as the Goldfields Giants eliminated the defending champion Mandurah Magic with 38 points from De'Sean Parsons and another triple-double from Shaun Stewart.

It had been a valiant effort by the reigning champion Magic just to get back to the playoffs to have a chance of defending their title having lost Julian Pesava and Jahcoree Ealy to season-ending injuries, and losing the 38.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 10.7 assists they were providing.

Mandurah still won four of their last seven games with Lachlan Bertram and Sammie Freeman stepping up big time but it was a big challenge to hit the road for Saturday night's elimination final.

The Giants locked away sixth position with strong form to close the season winning their last three games to finish at 12-10 and to set up a rematch of last year's semi-final with Mandurah which the Magic won on the way to the championship triumph.

Despite the odds against them and a raucous Kalgoorlie crowd as the renovated Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium hosted their first finals game, the Magic started hot with 33 points to 22 in the first quarter while knocking down seven three-pointers.

Mandurah led by as much as 19 points in that first quarter and that advantage got back out to 18 in the second frame, but by half-time Goldfields had started to turn the tide and cut the Magic lead to 58-48.

The Giants worked on top in the third quarter thanks to a 13-0 run and with Sammie Freeman in foul trouble, it was De'Sean Parsons taking charge for the home team on the back of being named to the All-First Team for 2025.

The tension was building early in the fourth quarter with the seasons on the line of both teams, and things were getting decidedly physical and calls under the basket were becoming especially hard to receive.

A screen from Mandurah's Cooper Lowe at mid-court on former Goldfields captain Jerome Reid then almost saw things spill out of control, but with the home crowd behind them, the Giants were able to ride the momentum.

They quickly turned a close game into one that they were leading by 19 points in the matter of minutes in the fourth quarter on the way to securing the eventual 14-point win.

The Giants now advance to what is going to be a fascinating semi-final on Friday night in Geraldton against their old rivals the Buccaneers who suffered a shock loss at home to the Warwick Senators.

De'Sean Parsons ended up delivering his best performance of 2025 with 38 points, 15 rebounds and five steals for Goldfields on 16/21 field goal shooting.

Shaun Stewart had his second triple-double in the last three games with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists with Michael Jok landing 5/8 from downtown for 20 points and six assists with Josh Duach adding 16 points, six assists and four rebounds, and Sam Morrow nine points and four assists.

The brave championship defence of the Magic is now over with Lachlan Bertram finishing his career-best season with another 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Hamish Warden landed 6/11 from downtown for 20 points, nine rebounds and two assists with Nick Woodall adding 18 points, three boards and three assists, Sammie Freeman 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks, and Jermaine Malie eight points, eight boards and eight assists.

GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 109 (Parsons 38, Jok 20, Stewart 17)

MANDURAH MAGIC 95 (Bertram 26, Warden 20, Woodall 18)

Qualifying Final – Rockingham Flames (102) lost to Willetton Tigers (121)

The Willetton Tigers made quite the statement by pouring on 121 points with almost 60 per cent field goal shooting to advance to a home preliminary final with the 121-102 road win over the regular season champion Rockingham Flames.

Rockingham finished the regular season in top spot a game clear at 19-3 and on a five-game winning streak while having the MVP in their line-up too, Adelaide 36ers guard Isaac White.

That saw them earn hosting rights for the qualifying final at Mike Barnett Sports Complex with championship winning captain Ryan Godfrey celebrating his 350th game on the occasion too.

Willetton arrived on the back of a heartbreaking grand final loss last year and have backed that up with a fourth place finish at 16-6 with plenty of players on a mission to get back to RAC Arena topped up with new arrivals Taeshon Cherry and Tana Kopa.

The Tigers set the tone right from the outset with a stunning start scoring the game's first 12 points and from there they were leading 29-19.

That lead got out to as much as 24 points in the second frame and Willetton ended up outscoring Rockingham 31 to 20 to go into half-time leading 60-39 with shooting 23/42 from the field to 16/42 from the Flames including 1/17 from behind the three-point arc.

Rockingham did make 5/10 from deep in the third quarter and outscored Willetton 32 points to 28 to put themselves back in touch of Willetton, but the Tigers weren’t going to let them get close enough to strike.

Willetton were simply finding it too easy to keep scoring and put up another 33 points in the fourth quarter to end the game with 121 to win by 19 on shooting 60 per cent from the field with 13/28 from three-point range and 16/22 at the foul line.

Opposed to that, Rockingham did still score 102 points on 48 per cent shooting with 8/22 from three-point territory and 12/15 from the free-throw line.

The Tigers now will host a preliminary final next Sunday at Willetton Basketball Stadium against either the Geraldton Buccaneers or Goldfields Giants.

Taeshon Cherry led the charge for Willetton finishing with 27 points and six rebounds with 4/8 three-point shooting.

Tom Gerovich also had 23 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, and Tana Kopa 23 points, five boards, five assists, two steals and two blocks on 5/10 three-point shooting.

Roosevelt Williams Jr added 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Michael Vigor 18 points, five assists and four rebounds and Damien Scott six points and four assists.

The Flames will be back home on Thursday night against the East Perth Eagles with a chance to win through to a preliminary final next Saturday on the road to the Warwick Senators.

MVP Isaac White produced 35 points, six rebounds and five assists with 5/13 three-point shooting for Rockingham with Laquinton Ross contributing 16 points, seven boards and three steals.

Ryan Godfrey had 12 points and six assists in his 350th game with Jervon Pressley having 11 points and four rebounds, Emmett Naar 10 points and three assists, and Travis Durnin seven points and four rebounds.

ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 102 (White 35, Ross 16, Godfrey 12)

WILLETTON TIGERS 121 (Cherry 27, Gerovich 23, Kopa 23)           

Qualifying Final – Geraldton Buccaneers (84) lost to Warwick Senators (115)

The Geraldton Buccaneers were the hottest NBL1 West team going into the finals but the Warwick Senators produced a stunning performance with Elijah Pepper, Todd Withers and Cooper Creek combining for 17 three-pointers in the 115-84 road win.

The Buccs had booked in second position with an 18-4 record and a home qualifying final at Active West Stadium thanks to 11 straight wins by an average of 28 points while scoring more than 113 points a game in that stretch.

That meant the job was ahead of the Senators to hit the road with Geraldton having only lost once on their own floor in 2025 and having beaten Warwick twice in the regular season.

The Senators were also missing championship winning captain Cody Ellis who remained back in Perth due to illness, but the visitors had the better of the season to be leading 26-20 by quarter-time.

Geraldton then had 28 points to 26 in the second term and as a result at half-time the Senators were narrowly leading 52-48 with the game still right up for grabs.

What the Senators went on to produce in the second half was remarkable with 36 points to 21 in the third quarter, and another 27 to 15 in the fourth to end up leading by as much as 32 points.

Warwick would outscore Geraldton 63 to 36 in the second half on shooting 23/40 from the field and 13/25 from downtown, and holding the Buccs to 11/31 shooting overall and 3/12 from three-point range.

Not only did the Senators put up 115 points for the 31-point win with shooting 54 per cent from the field and 23/48 from three, but they held the Buccs to 84 points on 42 per cent shooting when they had been scoring nearly 30 more than that over the last 11 matches.

The Senators will now play host to either the Rockingham Flames or East Perth Eagles in a preliminary final next Saturday night with Elijah Pepper delivering 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

Cooper Creek produced 25 points and 12 rebounds with 7/9 three-point shooting while Todd Withers landed 6/9 from three-point range for 21 points and nine rebounds with George Pearl adding 12 points and two boards, and Mitch Clarke 11 points, 12 assists and three steals.

The Buccaneers do remain home to host the Goldfields Giants in a semi-final on Friday night with the winner to then take on the Willetton Tigers on the road on Sunday in a preliminary final.

Akeem Springs top-scored for Geraldton with 17 points and five rebounds with Verle Williams adding 14 points and two assists, Nik DeSantis 13 points and four assists, and Joshua Keyes 12 points and eight rebounds.

It wasn’t quite the first game officially as a signed NBL development player that new Illawarra Hawk Johny Narkle was hoping for, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals on 6/15 field goal shooting.

GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 84 (Springs 17, Narkle 15, Williams 14)

WARWICK SENATORS 115 (Pepper 31, Creek 25, Withers 21)