Congratulations to the Ringwood Women and Hobart Chargers Men on claiming the 2022 NBL1 South championships on Saturday night!
The two sides - alongside Men's Wildcard winner Frankston - will now enter this weekend's NBL1 National Championship to battle it out against other Conference winners from across Australia!
NBL1 SOUTH WOMEN'S GRAND FINAL
The Ringwood Hawks are on top of the NBL1 South Women's competition claiming a first championship on the back of a stunning Grand Final performance to beat the Bendigo Braves 89-73.
The Hawks started the game on fire but it was the regular season champion Braves who grabbed the momentum either side of half-time going on an 11-0 run to work their way on top.
However, Ringwood were able to turn the tide in remarkable fashion and it was a three-point shooting barrage in the third quarter led by Marena Whittle, Toni Farnworth, Digna Strautmane and Marta Hermida.
The Hawks were able to turn a six-point deficit into a match-winning 16-point advantage in the matter of minutes and went on to secure the 16-point win to claim the association's first championship.
Whittle was named the Grand Final MVP with the Adelaide Lightning WNBL star simply unstoppable at the State Basketball Centre by finishing the evening with 33 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and two steals on 13/22 shooting from the floor.
She had plenty of help as well and Hermida stepped up big time on the big stage with 19 points and eight assists while knocking down three three-pointers and hitting all six of her free-throw attempts.
Latvian star Strautmane was also terrific for the Hawks with 16 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals on 4/7 shooting from downtown.
Toni Farnworth showed her class and experience once more on the Grand Final stage with 13 points while Danni Allen added five points and Jacqueline Trotto three points, five rebounds and two assists.
It was a tough loss in the Grand Final for Bendigo after such a terrific season in the NBL1 South where they lost just twice during the regular season to finish on top of the standings.
Megan McKay did a power of work, though, and delivered 23 points and 17 rebounds on 10/15 shooting for the Braves with Tess Madgen putting up 30 points, five boards and three assists.
Kelly Wilson added 10 points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists, Cassidy McLean five points, eight boards and three assists, and Madeline Sexton three points and three rebounds.
Ringwood shot out to a flying start in the Grand Final with two early shots from Marena Whittle helping them to the first six points of the game before a steadying offensive rebound and putback for Bendigo from Megan McKay.
But it was all the Hawks early and another pair of free-throws from Marta Hermida and then another jumper from Whittle saw them lead 10-2, and it was soon 13-4 when Hermida knocked one down from long-range.
Digna Strautmane also nailed one from beyond the arc for a 16-4 advantage before again it was McKay working hard on the offensive glass to end up with a three-point play for the Braves.
Tess Madgen then tried to will Bendigo back into it with a three ball but former Grand Final MVP out west Toni Farnworth stepped up to reply in kind for Ringwood.
However, the Braves were warming to the task and a steal and layup from Wilson had them back within three and by quarter-time Ringwood's lead was just 23-20.
Bendigo then grabbed the lead to start the second quarter on the back of another offensive board and putback from McKay and then a triple from Madgen. The Grand Final was heating up with Danni Allen hitting a three up the other end to put Ringwood back on top.
The lead continued to switch hands until a triple from Strautmane and inside basket from Whittle helped Ringwood back to a five-point edge, but Bendigo turned things back around in the final minute with seven straight points to head into the main break leading 43-41.
Bendigo kept that momentum rolling to start the third quarter too with the first four points to turn that into an 11-0 run to have gone from five points down to leading by six, but the Grand Final then underwent a remarkable transformation.
It was Whittle who steadied things for Ringwood with a couple of baskets to keep her team close and then the three-point party started to blow the game wide open with the Braves not knowing what hit them.
Strautmane started things off to give Ringwood the one-point lead before Hermida then added a couple from downtown in just over a minute. Whittle then landed from long-range as well and all of a sudden it was a 10-point lead.
The Hawks were far from done yet and Whitte nailed another from downtown, Farnworth did the same and that saw the lead blow out to 13 points. It was then 16 when Farnworth hit another reminiscent of her performance in the now NBL1 West competition for Perry Lakes in 2017.
Ringwood were still on top by 14 by three quarter-time and while the Braves tried to find a way back in the fourth term with McKay continuing to battle valiantly, there would be no coming back and the Hawks claimed the championship with the 16-point victory.
Not only will Ringwood be celebrating a first championship but they've also booked in a spot at next week's National Finals where they will have home court advantage.
NBL1 SOUTH WOMEN'S GRAND FINAL 2022
RINGWOOD HAWKS 89 (Whittle 33, Hermida 19, Strautmane 16)
BENDIGO BRAVES 73 (Madgen 30, McKay 23, Wilson 10)
Grand Final MVP: Marena Whittle
NBL1 SOUTH MEN'S GRAND FINAL
The Hobart Chargers delivered a masterclass over the final three quarters to prove too powerful, experienced and ultimately too hard to score against to beat the Mount Gambier Pioneers 78-62 win the NBL1 South Men's championship.
The Chargers finished the regular season in the NBL1 South on top of the table but the Pioneers kept pace with them most of the way and it was a fitting Grand Final between the two teams on Saturday night at the State Basketball Centre.
The Pioneers then came out and produced a standout opening quarter to lead by 10 points at quarter-time, but from there the Chargers took over and dominated the rest of the contest.
Hobart held Mount Gambier to just six points in the second quarter and only 39 points for the last three quarters as they scored 65 points of their own in that time to turn 10-point deficit into the eventual 16-point victory.
The championship is a first for the Chargers since winning the SEABL championship in 2018 which came after previous triumphs in 2000 and 2002.
It was a dominant last three quarters in the Grand Final from the Anthony Stewart-coached Chargers. They ended up pulling down 56 rebounds to 38 from the Pioneers while shooting 43.8 per cent from the floor compared with 32.9.
Tasmania JackJumpers NBL star Sam McDaniel was fittingly named Grand Final MVP after he produced 32 points and six rebounds for the Chargers on shooting 13/20 from the field and 4/5 from three-point territory.
German powerhouse Ole Angerstein added 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks for Hobart on 4/4 shooting with another JackJumpers stalwart Jarred Bairstow ending up with 11 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
Ahead of his return to the Brisbane Bullets, Harry Froling produced five points, 14 rebounds, five assists and two statement blocks for Hobart as well with AJ Harris contributing seven points and three assists, Jacob Richards seven points and four boards, and Jamar Sandifer five points and four rebounds.
Nick Marshall did all he could to try and inspire Mount Gambier finishing the Grand Final with 25 points and nine rebounds with Michael Harris adding 13 points and five boards, and Jordan Rawls 11 points and three rebounds.
The first significant blow of the Grand Final was struck by Michael Harris with a three-pointer for Mount Gambier but Ole Angerstein hit back for Hobart with a trademark offensive rebound and putback.
It was turning into a defensive grind until Nick Marshall knocked down a jumper and then Clevon Brown delivered a dunk for the Pioneers. Harris then scored again to push Mount Gambier out to a six-point edge and then Jordan Rawls hit the floor and nailed another from deep.
Marshall then stretched the Pioneers lead to nine before games record holder Erik Burdon stretched that advantage out to 10, and they went into quarter-time on top 23-13.
It didn’t take long to start the second quarter for Hobart to close that gap, though, starting with a triple from Sam McDaniel before Angerstein threw down a dunk on the breakaway and then McDaniel hit a pair of free-throws.
Another dunk from Angerstein suddenly had the Chargers a point behind after nine straight points to start and that became a two-point lead and 12 consecutive points when AJ Harris landed from beyond the arc.
The stunning run to start the quarter then became 15 points with a triple from McDaniel and 17 when the JackJumpers star scored inside and they led by seven.
It took almost six minutes into the quarter for Mount Gambier to score before Marshall got inside to hit a basket, but immediately Hobart responded with a three ball from Jacob Richards.
The Chargers turned that into a 35-29 advantage at the main break and it didn’t take long into the second half for the lead to grow to double figures. It got out to 10 points thanks to a three ball from Jarred Bairstow and then McDaniel extended it to 12.
Marshall was doing his best to keep Mount Gambier in touch, but every time he nailed a jumper the Chargers would respond up the other end before Jamar Sandifer hit from downtown to push their lead back out to 12.
Harry Froling then nailed a three ball of his own to push the Chargers advantage to 15 points and they still lead by 11 at three quarter-time.
A couple of early fourth quarter baskets to McDaniel and Bairstow kept Hobart on top by 13 points and then McDaniel knocked down one from long-range to restore that 13-point advantage in response to a Pioneers triple from Kane de Wit.
The Grand Final was all but sealed when McDaniel then drilled another three-pointer with just over five minutes to play to give the Chargers the 18-point advantage.
From there Hobart went on to win the game 78-62 to claim the championship in style and book themselves in for a spot at next week's National Finals also at the State Basketball Centre in Melbourne.
NBL1 SOUTH MEN'S GRAND FINAL 2022
HOBART CHARGERS 78 (McDaniel 32, Angerstein 11, Bairstow 11)
MOUNT GAMBIER PIONEERS 62 (Marshall 25, Harris 13, Rawls 11)
Grand Final MVP: Sam McDaniel
