The transformed NBL has ended its first season, the Perth Wildcats winning the championship in dominating circumstances over the New Zealand Breakers.
The grand final series got what it deserved and went to three games, but the blow out that followed was completely unexpected, as the Wildcats won the decider by 22 points.
Coming into the season, it was hard to mount a case as to why the Wildcats shouldn’t have been considered one of the favourites, and they proved that on Sunday Night at the Perth Arena with a performance that was among the best of any team all season long.
After the first two games saw close contests which went down to the final minutes – or in the case of Game 2 the final seconds – Game 3 was realistically over as a contest with a quarter and a half still to go.
The Wildcats blew their lead out to 20 points during the third quarter, never looking back as they buried the Breakers under a ton of defensive pressure and offensive execution.
Damian Martin picked up the NBL grand final MVP award and it wasn’t hard to see why. His court vision throughout the series was excellent, and his defence second to none. It seemed to lift the performance of all those around him in all three games.
The Wildcats can credit big centre Nathan Jawai with a lot of tonight’s win though. He was the one who opened the flood gates at the end of the first quarter. With his size he is close, actually, he is unstoppable in the paint, and found himself at the free throw line a number of times in the first quarter and into the early second quarter as Perth started to build a lead.
After a close and nervous start to the game it was exactly what the Wildcats needed to edge away from the Breakers. It dragged defence inside, and there was a noticeable shift in New Zealand’s game on both ends of the court. That then opened up the likes of Jermaine Beal, Casey Prather, Shawn Redhage and Jesse Wagstaff to make some massive shots throughout the late second quarter and into the second half.
The home team spent much of the final quarter simply going through the motions and starting to celebrate the win, such was the overwhelming nature of their dominance.
No matter what the result in Game 3, the transformation of the NBL and the whole finals series has been a massive success. At the start of the season, the NBL was all but dead.
Eight clubs, two in voluntary administration, no presence in the media and no TV deal.
The job Larry Kestelman and his team have done has been absolutely fantastic. To get every game on TV, and have eight fully functioning clubs, increasing crowds, and the Brisbane Bullets returning next season has just been insane.
As for the Wildcats, they will try to keep most of their squad together going forward. While a championship can bring a huge popularity boost, they have consistently sold out the biggest arena in the league during the season, so that isn’t something they’re lacking.
There have been rumours all season long about certain players, Nate Jawai and Damian Martin headlining the list, who might be going elsewhere next season. The way those players reacted after winning the championship, it is hard to see them leaving a club that has made the play-offs 30 times in a row.
Jermaine Beal and Casey Prather, their imports, could also be around next season. They had fantastic performances all season long, and will want another championship.
On the other hand, a championship drives the skill points the NBL gives to each player up, as well as their asking price, which will make it hard for the Wildcats. They may have to make some tough decisions.
That will all come out in the wash in the near future though. For now, it is time to celebrate a fantastic season.
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Scott Pryde
Expert
Hi Damo, Thanks for that! Yep, been an incredible season. Live blogging has been fun throughout. You're right. The Perth Arena is the best arena in the competition (hardest to play at for away teams) but it was fantastic. Would love to see United in RLA, The Kings in Allphones and the Bullets move to their old home court (about 14000 capacity) one day. The Bullets need a massive season next year (got an article coming on them in the next week or so detailing my thoughts, so I won't blab too much here) It will be interesting. While the Wildcats and Breakers were in the GF again, it was actually a very competitive season. Hopefully more of the same next year. The refereeing, I thought has been very up and down. Ned to find some consistency, and the GF series in my view was very home team favoured. Import numbers and salary cap shouldn't be increased until we have the league back on its feet properly in a few years time.
Scott Pryde
Expert
I thought Martin was fantastic. Without his defence, I doubt the offensive plays the Wildcats made would have happened.
Damo
Guest
Hi Scott, Firstly, a huge thanks to you (and Chris) for your write ups during the season. It's great to see the NBL get the most coverage I've seen in years (or maybe a decade?). I was there yesterday and while I'm obviously ecstatic with the result I was really pleased that the showpiece game ended up at the Perth Arena giving the game a real professional look and feel for casual viewers. The league has made huge strides this year with many naysayers eating humble pie though there's still a long way to go: 1) Returning Brisbane is fantastic and is a key to future tv rights 2) Some clubs still need to lift their professionalism, there's a reason that NZ and Perth have dominated for the last decade and it's got nothing to do with money. 3) The NBL needs some help with the refereeing standard. I see this similar to the issues that the A-League has had in the past. The game and the players are at a level currently beyond that of the refs. A standard needs to be set and adhered to and money needs to be spent on training and development of the refs. Some of the calls across the GF series were embarrassing if your trying to sell this to potential imports. 4) There's a lot of talk of increasing import numbers, increasing the salary cap and allowing Asian players to play 'as Australians'. It will be very interesting to see if any of this happens and the impact it will have. I do feel the NBL needs to consolidate before tinkering too much with any formulas. But overall it was a hugely successful comeback for the NBL which I believe still has an important part to play in Australia's sporting landscape.
anon
Guest
I get that Martin hustles and is a solid defensive player (he has to be because he's a liability offensively), but he's no MVP. The Wildcats did win on the back of his defensive work. It was the Wildcats big men that couldn't be contained and some great shooting from the likes of Beal and Prather.