04 Aug NWBL Round 7 Wrap
The stage is set for the NWBL and WNWBL Finals with Darwin claiming top spot on the ladder and Manly securing a finals berth in their inaugural season.
Darwin backed up their pre-season favouritism by finishing first as they defeated the Red Dust Heelers in all three games. The Salties also had the most points for, least points against, giving them the best points differential.
The Wheel Eagles were too strong against Adelaide with Bill Latham leading the way with 29 points and 9.7 rebounds per game across the weekend to help secure three wins that catapulted his side up into fourth place at the expense of the Southern Districts Spartans.
Coming up against the last placed Thunder, Manly used their bench liberally with Koen Jansens the only player not to hit the floor in game one, while Rohan Foy got everyone on the court for extended minutes in games two and three.
Despite the spread of minutes, Bill Latham still managed to get his, averaging 21 points per game, in 21 minutes per game on Saturday before going for 42 on Sunday while also grabbing 12 rebounds.
In Darwin, the Salties started the round early with their first game against Red Dust held on Friday night. Darwin was on point at both ends of the court, shooting at 61% from the field overall including 53% from three-point range with Tom O’Neill-Thorne hitting 5 from 6 on his way to 21 points.
While the scoreboard ticked over thanks to Jontee Brown (20.3 ppg for the weekend) and Jaylen Brown (18.7 ppg) it was at the defensive end that Darwin made their mark.
The Salties restricted the Heelers to two single digit quarters in both Friday and Saturday night games while in Game 2 at the Palmerston Recreation Centre, the home side crushed the visitors from the opening whistle, holding them to just 2 points in the first quarter; a solitary field goal to Sabri Bedzeti coming in the last minute of the quarter as Darwin already had 27 on the board.
In Brisbane, the Wollongong Roller Hawks won their three games against Southern Districts to secure second spot on the ladder, setting up a Semi Final against the Salties.
The Roller Hawks best performance was Saturday night’s 85-63 win where Tristan Knowles scored 37 points to go with 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Roller Hawks didn’t have it all their own way as the young Spartans side pushed Wollongong in all three games and were on the verge of an upset in Sunday’s game.
After Wollongong started the game with a 10-0 start, the Spartans responded with a 9-2 run to finish the quarter before a 24-12 second quarter gave the home side a 33-24 advantage at the half.
The Roller Hawks re-focused on their defense at the beginning of the third going on another run of their own, 16-0 and limiting the Queenslanders to just one field goal for the period, before they wrapped up the win 59-50.
The NWBL and WNWBL Finals are on 10th and 11th August at Shellharbour City Stadium in NSW.
In the men’s, first placed Darwin will play second placed Wollongong with the winner advancing directly to Sunday’s gold medal game. The loser will get a second chance on Saturday night in the Preliminary Final.
Third placed Perth takes on fourth placed Manly with the winner progressing to the Preliminary Final and the loser going straight to the bronze medal game.
Both semi finals will tip off at 11am Saturday.
In the women’s league, first placed Perth plays second placed Sydney Uni. The winner advances directly to Sunday’s gold medal game and the loser will get a second chance on Saturday night in the Preliminary Final.
Third placed Sydney Blues takes on fourth placed Queensland with the winner progressing to the Preliminary Final and the loser going straight to the bronze medal game.
Both women’s semi finals will tip off at 9am Saturday.
WBA Finals Series – Shellharbour City Stadium, Croom NSW
National Wheelchair Basketball League
Semi Finals – Saturday 10th August 2024
(1) Darwin Salties vs (2) Wollongong Roller Hawks @ 11am
(3) Perth Wheelcats vs (4) Manly Wheel Eagles @ 11am
Preliminary Final – Saturday 10th August 2024
LOSER 1/2 vs WINNER 3/4 @ 7pm
Finals – Sunday 11th August 2024
Bronze Medal Game: LOSER 3/4 vs LOSER Prelim Final @ 9:45am
Gold Medal Game: WINNER 1/2 vs WINNER Prelim Final @ 1:30pm
Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball League
Semi Finals – Saturday 10th August 2024
(1) Perth Wheelcats vs (2) Sydney Uni Flames @ 9am
(3) Sydney Blues vs (4) Queensland Comets @ 9am
Preliminary Final – Saturday 10th August 2024
LOSER 1/2 vs WINNER 3/4 @ 5pm
Finals – Sunday 11th August 2024
Bronze Medal Game: LOSER 3/4 vs LOSER Prelim Final @ 8:00am
Gold Medal Game: WINNER 1/2 vs WINNER Prelim Final @ 11:30am