Alex Ducas
The 2019 SBL Grand Final will see the Joondalup Wolves take on the Geraldton Buccaneers at Bendat Basketball Centre on Saturday 31 August.
The Wolves will contest their fifth consecutive grand final and eighth overall, while the Buccaneers will contest their first grand final since 2014 and seventh overall. After winning in 2015, the Wolves went on to lose three straight grand finals between 2016 and 2018. The three-time champions have also won titles in 1993 and 2011. The Buccaneers will be looking to win just their second championship and first since 2000. They will be looking to avoid going 1/7 in grand finals, with the team having finished as runners-up in 1989, 1996, 1997, 2001, and 2014.
In charge of the two grand final teams are championship-winners Ben Ettridge (Wolves) and Dayle Joseph (Buccaneers). Ettridge was at the helm when the Wolves won championships in 2011 and 2015, before being on the losing end 2016-18. Joseph returned to Geraldton for the 2019 season after being the team's head coach from 2001 to 2003, and assistant coach from 1999 to 2001.
The Wolves finished the 2019 regular season as minor premiers with a 20-6 record, while the Buccaneers finished in third place with a 19-7 record. While the Wolves had a steady line-up all season, the Buccaneers had a number of roster changes, with initial import Willie Conner replaced mid-season by DeAngelo Isby, who himself was sacked following game one of the quarter-finals. The late-season addition of Geraldton local Alex Ducas, who had been playing in the NBL1 for the BA Centre of Excellence, saw the Buccaneers finish the regular season strong and handle business in the finals. Other key players included second-year import Colter Lasher, Marcus Alipate and Liam Hunt, as well as long-time Buccs veterans Aaron Ralph and Mat Wundenberg. For the Wolves, the additions of Earnest Ross, who was poached from Geraldton, and imports Ridell Camidge and Kevin Davis saw them once again cement themselves as bonafide title contenders. The return of 2015 championship-winning centre Davis and the bench roles of veterans Trian Iliadis and Seb Salinas were keys for Joondalup in 2019.
In their two meetings during the regular season, the series was split at 1-1, with both teams earning wins at home. On 25 May, the Wolves defeated the Buccaneers 87-84 at HBF Arena, with Camidge scoring a game-high 30 points and Ross recording 24 points and 12 rebounds; Liam Hunt top scored for Geraldton with 25 points. On 13 July at Activewest Stadium, the Buccaneers won 85-82 behind Isby's game-high 24 points; Ross top scored for the Wolves with 21 points.
In the finals, the Wolves faced little resistance over the first two rounds against Kalamunda and Perry Lakes, sweeping both the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Apart from a 4-point win in game one of the semi-finals against the Hawks, the Wolves won each of their other three contests by 15 points or more. The Buccaneers on the other hand had two 3-game series on their road to the grand final. In the quarter-finals, the Buccaneers released Isby following a game one win over the Senators at Warwick Stadium. Returning to Geraldton for games two and three, the Senators evened the series at 1-1 before the Buccaneers took the series with a win in game three. In the semi-finals against the Lightning, the Buccs hosted game one and took a 1-0 lead heading into the penultimate weekend of the season. While Lakeside recovered to take game two, they lost their starting point guard Kyle Armour to a knee injury, which left the door wide open for the Buccs to take the series. In game three, Hunt scored 26 points and Ducas and Lasher each had 25 to lead the Buccs to a 96-86 win to book their place in their first championship decider since 2014.
The 2019 SBL Grand Final will mark the first ever match-up between Joondalup and Geraldton in the big dance.
2019 SBL Grand Final
Who: Joondalup Wolves vs Geraldton Buccaneers, hosted by Basketball Western Australia
When: Saturday 31 August, 7:30pm tip-off
Where: Bendat Basketball Centre - the home of basketball in WA
Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/sbl-mens-grand-final-tickets/artist/1759250
Tags : ALEX DUCAS, GERALDTON BUCCANEERS, AUSTRALIAN BASKETBALL
